Care Home Regulations 2001

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many care homes (a) exceeded, (b) met, (c) almost met and (d) failed to meet (i) the national minimum standard for complaints procedures and (ii) Regulation (A) 5 and (B) 6 of the Care Home Regulations 2001 in each of the last five years.

Liam Byrne: I understand from the chair of the Commission for Social Care Inspection, that data are collected on how care homes are meeting the national minimum standards. How care homes have met these standards is shown in the tables.
	Regulations 5, 5A and 6 set out requirements on information to be provided to the service users. Regulation 22 sets out requirements for the complaints procedure. Compliance with these regulations is a legal condition that must be met in order for a home to be registered.
	
		Care homes for older people
		
			  4-Exceeded Percentage 3-Met Percentage 
		
		
			 2002–03 
			 Standard 1- Information 198 2 2,199 24 
			 Standard 2- Contract 92 1 4,442 48 
			 Standard 16- Complaints 106 1 4,622 50 
			  
			 2003–04 
			 Standard 1- Information 311 3 6,357 54 
			 Standard 2- Contract 115 1 8,096 71 
			 Standard l6- Complaints 154 1 9,038 77 
			  
			 2004–05 
			 Standard 1- Information 219 2 6,573 61 
			 Standard 2- Contract 65 1 7,601 74 
			 Standard 16- Complaints 115 1 8,983 79 
		
	
	
		
			  2- Almost met Percentage 1- Failed to meet Percentage 
		
		
			 2002–03 
			 Standard 1- Information 4,748 51 2,201 24 
			 Standard 2- Contract 3,828 41 954 10 
			 Standard 16- Complaints 3,850 41 754 8 
			  
			 2003–04 4,157 35 954 8 
			 Standard 1- Information 2,667 23 548 5 
			 Standard 2- Contract 2,199 19 398 3 
			 Standard l6- Complaints 
			 2004–05 
			 Standard 1- Information 3,375 31 627 6 
			 Standard 2- Contract 2,184 21 394 4 
			 Standard 16- Complaints 1,963 17 282 2 
		
	
	
		Care homes for younger adults
		
			  4-Exceeded Percentage 3-Met Percentage 
		
		
			 2002–2003 
			 Standard 1-Information 116 2 1,010 15 
			 Standard 5-Needs Assessment 51 1 2,235 34 
			 Standard 22-Concerns and Complaints 78 1 3,074 46 
			  
			 2003–2004 
			 Standard 1-Information 115 2 2,601 44 
			 Standards 5-Needs Assessment 48 1 2,727 52 
			 Standard 22-Concerns and Complaints 108 2 4,361 71 
			  
			 2004–2005 
			 Standard 1-Information 83 2 2,042 57 
			 Standard 5-Needs Assessment 20 1 1,950 62 
			 Standard 22-Concerns and Complaints 57 1 3,420 79 
		
	
	
		
			  2 -Almost met Percentage 1-Failed to meet Percentage 
		
		
			 2002–2003 
			 Standard 1-Information 3,646 55 1,844 28 
			 Standard 5-Needs Assessment 2,850 44 1,388 21 
			 Standard 22-Concerns and Complaints 2,838 43 624 9 
			  
			 2003–2004 
			 Standard 1-Information 2,567 43 647 11 
			 Standards 5-Needs Assessment 1,891 36 618 12 
			 Standard 22-Concerns and Complaints 1,415 23 224 4 
			  
			 2004–2005 
			 Standard 1-Information 1,285 36 194 5 
			 Standard 5-Needs Assessment 949 30 227 7 
			 Standard 22—Concerns and Complaints 755 17 104 2 
		
	
	Note:
	The total number of homes scored against standard 1 does not always match the total number of homes scored against Standard 2 and Standard 16 for each inspection year in the tables, as not all homes arc inspected against every standard.
	Source:
	Registration and Inspection (R&I) Database, 1 October 2005

HIV/AIDS

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps she is taking to raise awareness of HIV/AIDS among primary care staff; what guidance she has issued to primary care staff to ensure the care received by those with HIV/AIDS is fair and equitable; and what plans she has to issue further guidance on this issue.

Caroline Flint: "Recommended standards for NHS HIV services" was published in 2003. This includes a chapter on primary health care for people with HIV. This document was produced jointly by the Department and the Medical Foundation for AIDS and Sexual Health (MEDFASH). The latter has also produced a booklet, "HIV in Primary Care—an essential guide to HIV for general practitioners, practice nurses and other members of the primary health care team".
	The British Association of Sexual Health and HIV (BASHH) also has guidelines on HIV testing in primary care.
	The National HIV Nurses Association is due to publish a set of HIV nursing competencies in 2006. All these guidelines help ensure that HIV/AIDS care is fair and equitable.

Tuberculosis

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the reasons for the rise in the number of cases of tuberculosis in England.

Caroline Flint: holding answer 17 November 2005
	The chief medical officer's action plan "Stopping Tuberculosis in England" (October 2004) recognised that tuberculosis (TB) in England increased by 25 per cent. over the previous 10 years, and is still rising.
	There are a number of factors that contribute to the rise in TB. TB is so common in certain parts of the world that people who live there are at a higher risk of catching it. The disease follows patterns of migration, and in England around two-thirds of TB patients are born abroad. Among these people, TB as a disease may not develop until five to 10 years later. Apart from the changing patterns of migration, other factors for increasing rates of TB include increased opportunities for international travel; homelessness in inner cities and increasing alcohol and other substance misuse. Also, HIV infection weakens a person's immunity to TB, although this only accounts for a small proportion, around 3 per cent. of the total.
	The Health Protection Agency (HPA) implemented a system of continuous enhanced tuberculosis surveillance in England in 1999 in response to the increase in cases of tuberculosis reported through the statutory notification system for infectious diseases, and aimed to better inform understanding of the changing epidemiology of tuberculosis.
	Annual tuberculosis surveillance reports are available from the HPA's website at www.hpa.org.uk/infections/topics_az/tb/epidemiology/reports.htm

Departmental Transport

Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what guidance her Department has issued to departmental offices on (a) producing a transport plan for staff and contractors and (b) reducing the environmental impact of car parking and car use by staff and contractors.

Jim Knight: All Defra and executive agency workplaces with more than 50 people working on-site are required to produce travel plans to reduce the impact of travel-related activities on the environment. Targets and actions are reviewed for progress and sites are surveyed biennially so that travel plans can be up-dated. Comprehensive guidance is provided through access to the Energy Savings Trust's Travel Plan Resource Pack for Employers.
	Travel plans are site-specific and each addresses significant transport-related environmental impacts according to local circumstances. At sites where car parking and car use are identified as significant impacts constructive solutions are sought to reduce the negative impacts.

Global Monitoring for Environment and Security

Lembit �pik: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions she had concerning the global monitoring for environment and security programme since September with (a) the Prime Minister, (b) the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry and (c) the European Commission; and if she will make a statement.

Elliot Morley: I have regular meetings with the Prime Minister and other Cabinet colleagues on a range of issues.
	The Government supports the concept of GMES and has played an active role in shaping its development as a user-driven initiative.
	GMES has the potential to improve the development and implementation of environment policy in the UK, Europe and on a global scale, but there is work to be done to ensure that this potential is realised.
	Over the coming months the Government will continue to work with the European Commission to try to ensure that GMES will deliver the information and services we need in the long term.

Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Brian Binley: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether the United Kingdom is on track to meet the Government's target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 20 per cent. from 1990 levels by 2010.

Elliot Morley: The Government are aware that more needs to be done to achieve their 2010 goal-latest published projections indicate that emissions of carbon dioxide will be about 13 per cent. below 1990 levels in 2010.
	The current review of the UK Climate Change Programme is looking at how existing policies are performing and the range of policies that might be put in place to put the UK back on track towards a 20 per cent. reduction in carbon dioxide emissions by 2010.

Public Service Agreements

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will introduce more user friendly reporting of progress against 2004 public service agreement target 8.

Jim Knight: The Department provides regular performance updates against its outstanding public service agreement targets through its annual departmental report and its autumn performance report published in spring and autumn respectively which the Department aims to make accessible. The 2005 departmental report (Cm6537), which is the most recently published, is available in the House Libraries and online at:
	http://www.defra.gov.uk/cpr[prate/deprep/default.htm
	Defra's 2005 autumn performance report is due for publication in mid-December and this will be the first time the Department has reported against its 2004 spending review targets.
	A short summary of progress against our 2004 spending review targets can be found in appendix six of the forthcoming autumn performance report, with more detailed information available in chapter two.

Public Service Agreements

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what timescales have been set by the Department for achievement of 2004 PSA Target 1.

Jim Knight: The Department provides regular performance updates against its outstanding public service agreement targets through its annual departmental report and its autumn performance report published in spring and autumn respectively which the Department aims to make accessible. The 2005 departmental report (Cm6537), which is the most recently published, is available in the House Libraries and online at:
	http://www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/deprep/default.htm
	Defra's 2005 autumn performance report is due for publication in mid-December and this will be the first time the Department has reported against its 2004 spending review targets.
	A short summary of progress against our 2004 spending review targets can be found in appendix six of the forthcoming autumn performance report, with more detailed information available in chapter two.

Public Service Agreements

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what data sources she intends to use to measure progress towards internationally-agreed commitments to tackle climate change, as required for the measurement of 2004 public service agreement target 1.

Jim Knight: The Department provides regular performance updates against its outstanding public service agreement targets through its annual departmental report and its autumn performance report published in spring and autumn respectively which the Department aims to make accessible. The 2005 departmental report (Cm6537), which is the most recently published, is available in the House Libraries and online at:
	http://www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/deprep/default.htm
	Defra's 2005 autumn performance report is due for publication in mid-December and this will be the first time the Department has reported against its 2004 spending review targets.
	A short summary of progress against our 2004 spending review targets can be found in appendix six of the forthcoming autumn performance report, with more detailed information available in chapter two.

Public Service Agreements

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how she will define the term rural area as required for the purpose of measuring achievement of the 2004 public service agreement target four.

Jim Knight: The Department provides regular performance updates against its outstanding public service agreement targets through its annual departmental report and its autumn performance report published in spring and autumn respectively which the Department aims to make accessible. The 2005 departmental report (Cm6537), which is the most recently published, is available in the House Libraries and online at:
	http://www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/deprep/default.htm
	Defra's 2005 autumn performance report is due for publication in mid-December and this will be the first time the Department has reported against its 2004 spending review targets.
	A short summary of progress against our 2004 Spending Review targets can be found in appendix six of the forthcoming autumn performance eport, with more detailed information available in chapter two.

Trade Effluent

Chris McCafferty: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many significant consents to discharge trade effluent to watercourses were held by industry in (a) 2002, (b) 2003 and (c) 2004; what percentage of these consents were monitored for compliance purposes and inspections made by the Environment Agency; what the level of compliance with these consents was; what enforcement actions were taken against sites that breached their consents; what percentage of these consents were reviewed; how many reviews led to a tightening of the discharge consent; and what percentage of consents included red list substances.

Elliot Morley: The table details the significant consents issued to industry by the Environment Agency for trade effluent discharges to watercourses and the corresponding information you requested.
	
		
			  2002 2003 2004 
		
		
			 Number of significant discharge consents 4109 4119 2858 
			 
			 Percentage monitored for compliance purposes and inspections made by EA 58.7 65.4 63.0 
			 
			 Level of compliance (percentage) 817 82.3 80.0 
			 
			 Enforcement action taken against sites that breached consents
			 Cautions 18 20 20 
			 Prosecutions 8 18 10 
			 
			 Percentage of consents reviewed 0.1 0.1 0.3 
			 Number 4 4 9 
			 
			 Number of reviews which led to tightening of consent 0 0 8 
			 Percentage   90 
			 
			 Percentage of consents including List I/I I (red list) substances 13 13 11

Wild Birds

Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what information she collects on numbers of wild birds in the United Kingdom; and if she will make a statement.

Jim Knight: DEFRA annually monitors the numbers of a whole range of birds, through the Breeding Bird Survey. This survey, conducted and funded jointly by the British Trust for Ornithology, the RSPB and the Joint Nature Conservation Committee, assesses trends in the numbers of common species of birds across the country. A range of other surveys, funded by these organisations, assesses trends in scarcer species. Annual reports are produced for each of the surveys, but summary information derived from them is contained in the report The State of the UK's Birds 2004 1 which as published in July 2005.
	his report revealed:
	Major successes since 1970 include scarce breeders with mainly southern distributions, such as little ringed plovers, woodlarks and Dartford warblers, that may be benefiting from climate change; species such as the buzzard that may be experiencing less persecution than in the past; and species such as the woodpigeon, which may be benefiting from changes in agricultural cropping patterns.
	Recent surveys have detected encouraging increases for some of our most vulnerable breeding species: corncrakes, bitterns and nightjars. One species, the hen harrier, showed encouraging increases in the north and west but worrying declines elsewhere in its range.
	The all-species, farmland and woodland wild bird indicators for the UK have all shown a slight increase over the last year. However, the farmland bird indicator remains below 60 per cent. of its 1970 value.
	2004 was the poorest breeding season on record for many of our seabirds, such as kittiwakes and guillemots, raising concerns about environmental changes in the seas surrounding the UK.
	The report recognised encouraging progress towards meeting species' targets in the UK Biodiversity Action Plan where concerted conservation action has resulted in increases in numbers of bitterns, corncrakes, stone-curlews and cirl buntingsall species that were at serious risk of extinction as recently as the mid-1990s. While there is no reason for complacency, indications are that the dramatic rate of long-term decline in overall bird populations may have been halted.
	1 Eaton M. A., Noble D. G., Cranswick P. A., Carter N., Wotton S., Ratcliffe N., Wilson A., Hilton G. M., and Gregory R D., 2004. The state of the UK's birds 2003. BTO, the RSPB and WWT, Sandy.

Alcohol-related Deaths

Fraser Kemp: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer in how many deaths in (a) Houghton and Washington, East, (b) Sunderland and (c) Tyne and Wear alcohol was the primary cause in each of the past five years.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 30 November 2005
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking in how many deaths in (a) Houghton and Washington East, (b) Sunderland and (c) Tyne and Wear alcohol was the primary cause in each of the last five years. (32871)
	The latest year for which figures are available is 2004. The table below shows the numbers of deaths among residents of the parliamentary constituency of Houghton and Washington East, metropolitan district of Sunderland and former metropolitan county of Tyne and Wear where the underlying cause of death indicated a condition directly related to alcohol use in the years 2000 to 2004.
	
		Alcohol-related deaths(8)to usual residents of the parliamentary constituency of Houghton and Washington, East, the metropolitan district of Sunderland and the former metropolitan county of Tyne and Wear, registered 200004
		
			 Number of deaths 
			  Houghton and Washington, East Sunderland Tyne and Wear 
		
		
			 2000 11 48 174 
			 2001 13 40 150 
			 2002 13 44 167 
			 2003 19 45 188 
			 2004 7 37 221 
		
	
	(8) For the year 2000 the cause of death was defined using the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (ICD-9). The codes used by ONS to define alcohol-related deaths are listed as follows:
	291Alcoholic psychoses
	303Alcohol dependence syndrome
	305.0Non-dependent abuse of alcohol
	425.5Alcoholic cardiomyopathy
	571Chronic liver disease and cirrhosis
	E860Accidental poisoning by alcohol
	For the years 200104 the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) was used. To maintain comparability with earlier years the following codes were used:
	F10Mental and behavioural disorders due to use of alcohol
	142.6Alcoholic cardiomyopathy
	K70Alcoholic liver disease
	K73Chronic hepatitis, not elsewhere classified
	K74Fibrosis and cirrhosis of liver
	X45Accidental poisoning by and exposure to alcohol
	Notes:
	1. Deaths were selected using the original underlying cause.
	2. The selection of codes to define alcohol-related deaths is described in:
	Baker A and Rooney C (2003). Recent trends in alcohol-related mortality, and the impact of ICD-10 on the monitoring of these deaths in England and Wales. Health Statistics Quarterly 17, pp 514.

Budget Reports (Chart B6)

Adam Holloway: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will set out the calculations and background statistics used in the compilation of Chart B6 of the Financial Statement and Budget Report of March 2005, HC 372, showing business investment relative to gross domestic product.

John Healey: The data sources for Chart B6 of the 2005 Financial Statement and Budget Report (FSBR) are available on the HM Treasury website, in a document entitled Budget 2005: data sources
	(http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/media/B07/A9/bud05_data_sources.pdf). The workings behind Chart B6 are set out after the chart on page 233 of the 2005 FSBR.

Lyons Inquiry

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether (a) his Department and (b) the Valuation Office Agency has made a written submission to the Lyons Inquiry on local government finance.

John Healey: I refer the hon. Member to the answer she received on 12 September 2005, Official Report, column 2431W from the Minister of State (Local Government).

New Hospitals

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what discussions he has had with the National Assembly for Wales Minister for Health on funding for the provision of new hospitals serving patients in Wales.

Nick Ainger: I regularly meet the Assembly Minister for Health and Social Services to discuss a range of issues including funding for the provision of new hospitals in Wales.
	Capital expenditure for building hospitals is detailed within the Welsh Assembly's Capital Investment Plan. This includes a major rebuilding scheme aimed at modernising health and social care and increasing capacity.

Licensing Hours

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many applications have been granted for 24 hour sale of alcohol licences in (a) Newport and (b) Wales.

Nick Ainger: I understand that three applications have been granted by Newport city council, all for retail sites. I further understand that 61 applications have been granted by local authorities in Wales, and that 40 of these are for retail sites.

Local Government

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales whether his Department has made a written submission to the Lyons Inquiry on local government finance.

Peter Hain: I refer the hon. Lady to the answer given to her by the Minister of State at the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister on 12 September 2005, Official Report, column 2431W.

Departmental Staff

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many (a) officers, (b) other ranks, (c) support personnel and (d) administrative staff were employed by his Department in each year since 1997; and what proportion of his Department's budget was attributed to the employment of each group.

Don Touhig: The following table gives details of Ministry of Defence personnel strength for officers, other ranks, support personnel and administrative staff as at 1 April for the years 1997 to 2005. This includes Full-time Reserve Service Personnel, Gurkhas, Royal Irish Regiment (Home Service), Gibraltar Permanent Cadre and Non-regular Permanent Staff (NPRS). Civilian support staff are the Locally Engaged Civilians and Royal Fleet Auxiliaries, with administrative staff consisting of all other civil servants within the MOD.
	
		
			  As at 1 April 
			  1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 
		
		
			 UK Regular Strength1, 6  
			 All Services 210,820 210,140 208,640 207,620 205,650 
			 Officers 32,680 32,620 32,240 32,520 32,630 
			 Other Ranks 178,150 177,510 176,400 175,100 173,020 
			   
			 Non-Regular Strength(22)  
			 FTRS2, 3, 4 n/a 130 630 (23)1,040 (23)1,600 
			 FTRS Officers(20) n/a 50 190 (23)330 (23)670 
			 FTRS Ranks n/a 80 440 710 930 
			   
			 Gurkhas 3,760 3,640 3,580 3,670 3,780 
			 Officers 150 130 130 130 130 
			 Soldiers 3,610 3,510 3,460 3,540 3,660 
			   
			 Royal Irish Regiment (Home Service) 4,770 4,620 4,450 4,170 3,840 
			 Officers 200 210 200 210 190 
			 Ranks 4,570 4,410 4,250 3,950 3,650 
			   
			 Gibraltar Permanent Cadre 140 160 160 160 160 
			 Officers 10 10 10 10 10 
			 Ranks 100 150 140 150 150 
			   
			 Non-regular Permanent Staff (NRPS)(21) 1,420 1,400 1,400 1,390 1,210 
			 Officers 430 400 400 430 400 
			 Ranks 990 1,000 1,000 960 810 
		
	
	
		
			  2002 2003 2004 2005 
		
		
			 UK Regular Strength1, 6 
			 All Services 204,690 206,920 207,020 201,100 
			 Officers 32,750 33,160 33,450 33,000 
			 Other Ranks 171,940 173,770 173,580 168,100 
			  
			 Non-Regular Strength(22) 
			 FTRS2, 3, 4 (23)1,960 (23)2,360 (23)2,220 1,690 
			 FTRS Officers(20) (23)670 (23)800 (23)740 620 
			 FTRS Ranks 1,290 1,560 1,480 1060 
			  
			 Gurkhas 3,800 3,760 3,720 3,690 
			 Officers 130 140 130 130 
			 Soldiers 3,670 3,630 3,590 3,560 
			  
			 Royal Irish Regiment (Home Service) 3,640 3,500 3,410 3,220 
			 Officers 230 220 210 200 
			 Ranks 3,410 3,280 3,200 3010 
			  
			 Gibraltar Permanent Cadre 180 180 180 180 
			 Officers 10 20 20 10 
			 Ranks 160 160 160 170 
			  
			 Non-regular Permanent Staff (NRPS)(21) 1,140 1,100 1,110 1080 
			 Officers 340 300 270 210 
			 Ranks 800 800 840 870 
		
	
	n/a=denotes not applicable
	(17) Figures show trained and untrained personnel.
	(18) FTRS were created by the Reserve Forces Act 1996 and none existed before late 1997 they were formally recorded from late 1998 only.
	(19) FTRS figures include full commitment (FC), home commitment (HC) and limited commitment (LC) individuals. For the Army, FC and LC individuals serve against the requirement whilst HC individuals fill posts specifically for the FTRS personnel. For the RAF, FC individuals serve against the requirement whilst HC and LC individuals fill posts specifically for the FTRS personnel.
	(20) Army FTRS officer figures from 2000 to 2004 are currently under review and should be considered provisional. Figures from 2001 to 2004 have been supplied by Army Personnel Centre. 1 April 2001 figure is not available, figure is for 1 March 2001.
	(21) Non-regular permanent staff (NRPS) are Territorial Army personnel who provide training and administration to Territorial Army units on a permanent full-time basis. They are included within the Territorial Army Group B, together with Officer Training Corps personnel. Further details may be found in Tri-Service Publication (TSP) 7, UK Reserves and Cadets, a copy of which is held in the Library of the House.
	(22) Due to the founding methods used, totals may not always equal the sum of the parts. When founding to the nearest 10, numbers ending in five have been rounded to the nearest multiple of 20 to prevent systematic bias.
	(23) Provisional.
	Source:
	DASA(Tri Service)
	
		
			  As at 1 April 
			 Civilians (FTE4, 5) 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 
		
		
			 All Civilian personnel 133,530 126,490 123,120 121,390 118,220 
			 LEG(24) 15,860 15,160 14,870 14,850 13,340 
			 Manually paid staff overseas 200 200 100 100 50 
			 RFA(25) 2,210 2,360 2,360 2,420 2,360 
			 Other Civil Servants 115,260 108,770 105,780 104,020 102,460 
		
	
	
		
			 Civilians (FTE4, 5) 2002 2003 2004 2005 
		
		
			 All Civilian personnel 110,090 107,580 109,050 108,470 
			 LEG(24) 14,120 13,840 15,430 15,660 
			 Manually paid staff overseas 
			 RFA(25) 2,370 2,450 2,310 2,350 
			 Other Civil Servants (26)93,610 91,280 91,310 90,460 
		
	
	(24) LEC are locally engaged civilians who support the department overseas and are not civil servants.
	(25) RFA are Royal Fleet Auxiliaries who support the Navy but are civil servants.
	(26) In 2001 the QinetiQ portion of the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency (8,000) was established as a private company.
	(27) Due to the rounding methods used, totals may not always equal the sum of the parts. When rounding to the nearest 10, numbers ending in 5 have been rounded to the nearest multiple of 20 to prevent systematic bias.
	(28) Full-time equivalent (FTE) results show part time civilian staff as a proportion of the hours they work.
	Source:
	DASA(Civilian).
	The following table show Ministry of Defence personnel expenditure data broken down for both civilian and the UK armed forces for the same period as above and also expressed as a proportion of the aggregate defence budget.
	
		Financial outturn for each financial year
		
			  Inclusive of non-recoverable VAT at current prices (million) 
			   million Service Civilian Percentage service Percentage civilian 
		
		
			 Adjusted Defence Budget(29)  
			 199697 22,345 5,938 2,355 26.6 10.5 
			 199798 21,610 6,286 2,270 29.1 10.5 
			 199899 22,475 6,257 2,273 27.8 10.1 
			 19992000 22,549 6,500 2,268 28.8 10.1 
			 200001 23,538 6,223 2,409 26.4 10.2 
			   
			 Using net cash requirement2  
			 200102 26,100 7,014 2,442 26.9 9.4 
			 200203 27,334 7,385 2,584 27.0 9.5 
			   
			 Using defence spending3  
			 200304 31,078 7,974 2,461 25.7 7.9 
			 200405(32) 32,597 8,274 2,662 25.4 8.2 
		
	
	(29) The adjusted defence budget was used when the department reported under a cash regime to provide consistent figures for defence spending. For further details please refer to Footnote 6 of table 1.1, UK Defence Statistics 2001.
	(30) During 200102 and 200303 the Department introduced resource accounting and budgeting (RAB) in two stages. To provide roughly comparable figures with pre and post full RAB the net cash requirement to represent the defence budget. The net cash requirement (NCR) is the actual money that MOD requests from the Government in order to fund its activities. The NCR takes account of movements in working capital levels (debtors, creditors, stock) whilst excluding ail non-cash costs.
	(31) Following the full introduction of RAB, the Defence Spending line from UK Defence Statistics Table 1.1a has been employed (UK Defence Statistics 2005, page 14).
	(32) Provisional outturn data are provided for 200405.
	Source:
	UK Defence Statistics

Departmental Staff

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much it costs to employ (a) (i) multiple part-time and (ii) jobshare staff to a full-time post and (b) a full time member of staff for (A) her Department and (B) the Learning and Skills Council.

Maria Eagle: 'Part-time, jobshare and full time staff in both the Department and the Learning and Skills Council are paid at the same hourly rate as one another. The overall costs and benefits of employing part-time, jobshare or full-time staff depend on the particular circumstances and individuals involved.

Educational Maintenance Allowance

Shona McIsaac: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many students aged 16 to 18 years of age are in receipt of educational maintenance allowance in each institution in (a) North East Lincolnshire and (b) North Lincolnshire.

Maria Eagle: This is a matter for the Learning and Skills Council, who operate Education Maintenance Allowances for the DfES and hold the information about take-up of the scheme. Mark Haysom, the Council's Chief Executive, will write to the hon. Member with the information requested and a copy of his reply will be placed in the House Libraries.
	Letter from Mark Haysom to Ms McIsaac, dated 7 November 2005
	I am writing in response to your Parliamentary Question that asked how many students aged 16 to 18 years of age are in receipt of educational maintenance allowance in each institution in (a) North East Lincolnshire and (b) North Lincolnshire?
	Educational Maintenance Allowance is available to 1619 years olds in full-time Further Education. The number of young people in receipt of Education Maintenance Allowance in each institution in North East Lincolnshire and North Lincolnshire Local Authority Areas at 25 October was 1,932 and 1,252 respectively. The following table displays this data at institute level.
	
		
			 LA URN  Provider Young people receiving EMA 
		
		
			 North East Lincolnshire 130585 Grimsby College 1,242 
			 North East Lincolnshire 130586 Franklin College 498 
			 North East Lincolnshire 118091 Tollbar Business and Enterprise College 68 
			 North East Lincolnshire 118096 The Lindsey School and Community Arts College 45 
			 North East Lincolnshire 118113 Matthew Humberstone Church of England School 40 
			 North East Lincolnshire 118086 The Immingham School 33 
			 North East Lincolnshire 118143 Humberston Park School 5 
			 North East Lincolnshire 118124 St. James' School 1 
			 North Lincolnshire 130587 North Lindsey College 642 
			 North Lincolnshire 130588 John Leggott Sixth Form College 548 
			 North Lincolnshire 118109 Baysgarth School 37 
			 North Lincolnshire 118100 Vale of Ancholme Technology College 23 
			 North Lincolnshire 117706 Young Mums Unit 2 
		
	
	I hope this information is helpful and addresses your question. If you would like further details please contact Chris Bradley at the LSC National Office on 0114 207 4512 or christopher.bradley@lsc.gov.uk

Extended Schools Programme

Edward Balls: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  what estimate she has made of the number of schools in (a) West Yorkshire, (b) Wakefield district and (c) Normanton constituency that will be delivering extended services in (i) 2006, (ii) 2007 and (iii) 2008; and to how many children and parents such provision will be available;
	(2)  how much has been allocated to (a) the local authority and (b) local schools in Wakefield to develop and roll out the extended schools programme in (i) 200506, (ii) 200607, (iii) 200708 and (iv) 200809 financial years.

Beverley Hughes: This Government wants all schools to provide access to a core offer of extended services by 2010, with half of all primary and a third of all secondary schools doing so by 2008. We want to see at least 2,500 schools providing access to the core offer by September 2006. The core offer, which should be available to all parents and pupils of the school, comprises: high quality child care; a varied menu of study support activities; parenting support programmes; swift and easy referral to a wide range of specialised support services; and wider community access. It will be for individual local authorities, in discussion with all schools in their area, to take a strategic approach to developing access to the core offer through schools. This will include determining how many primary and secondary schools develop access to the core offer in each year. On 29 September 2005 my Department published its report on the baseline survey of extended services in schools which it commissioned earlier in the year. The survey showed that nationally the vast majority of schools were providing access to some form of extended activity. The survey did not provide figures at local authority level.
	On 13 June 2005 Ruth Kelly announced funding of 790 million over 200508 to support the development of extended schools. 110 million of this was allocated in 200506 and Wakefield received 815,005. Of the 680 million to be allocated across 200608, 250 million will go direct to schools through the School Standards Grant and the formula for calculating each school's allocation for 200607 will be announced in the near future. The remaining 430 million will be distributed to local authorities through the Standards Fund and the General Sure Start Grant. Of this Wakefield will receive 1,203,051 in 200607 and 1,453,835 in 200708. Funding will be released to schools in accordance with each local authority's extended schools strategy. My Department wrote out to each local authority on 13 June 2005 detailing what their extended schools allocation, excluding the School Standards Grant, will be over the period 200508.
	Funding for extended schools beyond 200708 is subject to the outcome of the Comprehensive Spending Review in 2007 when the Department will be reviewing all its programme budgets.

Marshall Aid/Scholarships

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the criteria are for a scholarship under the Marshall Aid Commemoration Act 1953; and if she will make a statement.

Ian Pearson: I have been asked to reply.
	The criteria for awarding Marshall scholarships, as laid down in the Marshall Aid Commemoration Act 1953, are that recipients must be:
	. . . citizens of the United States of America, who are graduates of recognised institutions of higher learning in the United States of America . . .
	There are no references to selection in the Act of 1959, but the current administrative regulations do establish further criteria, a copy of them will be placed in the Library of the House.

Post-16 Education

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much (a) capital and (b) revenue spending has been allocated for the education of 16 to 19-year-olds in (i) school sixth forms, (ii) sixth form colleges and (iii) further education colleges in Warrington in each year since 1997.

Bill Rammell: holding answer 9 November 2005
	As the allocation of funding in local areas relates to the Learning and Skills Council's (LSC) operational responsibilities. The LSC's chief executive Mark Haysom has written to my hon. Friend with the information requested for sixth form colleges, further education colleges and the revenue information for schools sixth forms since 200203. A copy of his reply will be placed in the Library. However, we are not able to provide details of capital spend for schools sixth forms as capital allocations for investment in schools have not separately identified funding for sixth form provision. Decisions on priorities for capital investment in schools have been taken locally in accordance with local asset management plans. The new 1619 Joint Capital Fund will combine schools and post-16 budgets bringing greater coherence to investment decisions on projects requiring investment in new post-16 education and training provision.
	Before the LSC took on the responsibility, in 200203, of funding for sixth-formers in schools, local authorities were provided with allocations for these pupils through the post 16 and Other sub-blocks of the Education Standard Spending Assessment. Further funding for schools with sixth forms has been provided to authorities through grants such as the School Standards Grant and the Standards Fund. However, it is not possible to determine how much of the funding through formula or grants has been directed towards sixth forms since it is for the authority to decide how much funding an individual school receives, and a school to direct appropriate resources towards its sixth form. Any apportionment is likely to be inaccurate.
	Letter from Mark Haysom, dated 30 November 2005
	I write following your Parliamentary Question about capital and revenue funding for 1619 year olds in school sixth forms, sixth form colleges and further education colleges in Warrington since 1997. I thought it might also be helpful to pick up a couple of related points following the evidence that Chris Banks and I gave to the recent Education and Skills Select Committee on 7 November.
	I should begin by explaining that there are a number of limitations on the information that the Learning and Skills Council can provide in response to your question on funding. Firstly, as the LSC was established in April 2001 I cannot provide information prior to April 2001. Those allocations (including for the 200102 academic year) were made by one of the LSC's predecessor agencies, the former Further Education Funding Council (FEFC).
	Secondly, school sixth forms did not come under the LSC's remit until the 200203 academic year; until that time revenue funding was allocated by Warrington's local education authority. Similarly, capital funding for school sixth forms is not currently within the LSC's remit and so we cannot provide those figures.
	Finally, in relation to capital expenditure, the elements of capital spending in colleges that relate specifically to 1619 year olds are difficult to apportion, as most further education college facilities are used by adult learners as well as 1619 year olds. The same is true of sixth form college facilities, although to a lesser extent.
	Therefore, the information I can provide consists of:
	revenue funding for 1619 year olds in the town's further education college (Warrington Collegiate) and sixth form college (Priestley College) from 200203 to 200506
	revenue funding for the borough's seven school sixth forms from 200203 to 200506
	capital grants for the sixth form college and further education college since 2001.
	The details of these allocations are set out below.
	Revenue funding
	The table below gives details of revenue funding allocated by the LSC.
	
		
			 
			  School sixth forms Sixth form college FE college 
		
		
			 200102 (33) (34) (34) 
			 200203 4,755,396 3,716,679 3,026,089 
			 200304 5,510,749 4,441,250 3,591,870 
			 200405 5,892,168 4,793,440 4,019,992 
			 200506 5,913,274 5,321,521 4,719,652 
		
	
	(33) Allocations made by LEA
	(34) Allocations made by FEFC
	Note:
	The amount actually paid each year might vary from the allocation by around 23 per cent. depending on how far learner numbers differ from the projections on which allocations were based.
	Capital spending
	Capital projects in sixth form colleges and further education colleges are funded on the same basis. Until 2003 there was an assumption that the LSC would provide approximately 35% of the costs of a project, with the exception of works needed to meet the requirements of the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) which receive a higher level of funding (up to 75%). The balance would be from a variety of sources that might include colleges' cash reserves, the proceeds from the sale of surplus land, private finance or buildings borrowing.
	However, since 2003 LSC capital project funding has been based on affordability; if colleges can use their own cash reserves and borrow to a reasonable level they are now expected to do so before the LSC will agree the level of grant it will pay.
	The table below gives details of the capital grants that have been allocated in Warrington.
	
		
			  LSC grant () Overall project cost () Project summary 
		
		
			 School sixth forms (35) (35) (35) 
			 
			 Priestley College (sixth form college)
			 2005 2,850,000 5,700,000 Construction of new build; refurbishment of existing accommodation; demolition of unsuitable temporary accommodation 
			 2005 750,000 1,032,179 Works needed to comply with Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) 
			 2002 595,000 1,700,000 Development of sports facilities to encourage growth and quality improvement of sports courses; extension of catering and recreational space and Learning Services area 
			 2001 38,500 77,001 Works needed to comply with DDA 
			 Total 4,233,500   
			 
			 Warrington Collegiate (FE college)
			 2004 8,100,000 27,000,000 Redevelopment of the Winwick Road campus; demolition of existing buildings; vacation of Padgate Road campus 
			 2003 30,039 40,052 Works needed to comply with DDA 
			 Total 8,130,039   
		
	
	(35) Information not available as capital funding for sixth forms is not within the LSC remit
	I should like to follow up some of the related questions put to Chris Banks and me by your colleagues on the Select Committee last week.
	We discussed the findings of the Learning and Skills Development Agency's research into the funding gap for full-time 1618 year old learners in schools and colleges. The report found that had FE colleges been funded on the same basis as school sixth forms, they would have received an additional 13%.
	However, it did not suggest that simply uplifting college funding rates is the way to level the playing field, as the gap in the actual funding rate is only just over 2%. A large part of the difference is caused by technical issues such as special pensions arrangements for teachers in schools, differences in the way that data (particularly learner number information) is collected and used, and the impact of the Government's 'real terms guarantee' which stated that no school that maintained its student numbers would receive less funding in real terms under the LSC funding formula than under the previous LEA arrangements.
	Today around one in seven schools still benefits from this guarantee by receiving more than they would under the LSC formula.
	As Chris and I said last week, the funding inequity is one of the issues that the LSC's agenda for change programme aims to address. When Sir David Normington and I gave evidence to the Committee of Public Accounts in October, Sir David reiterated the Government's commitment to narrowing the gap, but he noted that any changes must be carefully planned and rolled out so as not to destabilise the school system by simply taking money away from them to give to the colleges. By its very nature this process cannot be a quick one, but with our new funding arrangements we will make progress.
	Finally, I should like to touch briefly on your concerns about funding for adult learning. I know that Liz Davis has written to you to explain the funding issues and I understand that Warrington Collegiate has historically taken a very inclusive approach to fee setting in order to ensure that those who are most in need of learning continue to be able to access it. Colleagues at the local LSC, together with the two colleges and Warrington Borough Council's community services department, met recently to discuss the best way to manage the impact of future changes and developments in adult learning in Warrington.
	Although this group's discussions are at an early stage I have asked Liz to ensure that you are kept informed of progress over the coming weeks.
	If you would like to discuss this or any of the matters in this letter in more detail I know that Liz would be pleased to meet with you at your convenience. Liz can be contacted on 01606 320022.
	I hope that this is helpful.

Young People (Statistics)

Edward Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what estimate she has made of the number and proportion of (a) 16, (b) 17 and (c) 18-year-olds not in full-time education or training, broken down by local education authority area.

Phil Hope: Estimates of the number and percentage of young people aged (a) 16 and (b) 17 who were not in full-time education or work-based learning (e.g. apprenticeships) in local authorities in England are given in the table. Figures for 18-year-olds are not available at a local level.
	These estimates are provisional and are snapshot information as at the end of the calendar year 2003. They are derived from the Department's Statistical First Release (SFR 11/2005) entitled, 'Participation in Education and Training by 16 and 17 year olds in Each Local Area in England: 2002 and 2003'.
	
		Number and percentage of 16 and 17-year-olds not in full-time education or work based learning by local authorities in England, 2003 provisional
		
			  16-year-olds 17-year-olds 
			  Number Percentage Number Percentage 
			 East Midlands 13,000 23 18,000 33 
		
		
			 Derbyshire 3,100 25 4,100 34 
			 Derbyshire 2,300 24 3,000 33 
			 Derby 900 28 1,200 38 
			  
			 Leicestershire 2,300 19 3,500 28 
			 Leicester 700 17 1,200 29 
			 Leicestershire 1,600 20 2,100 28 
			 Rutland 100 12 200 23 
			  
			 Lincolnshire 2,100 24 2,800 35 
			 Northamptonshire 2,000 23 3,000 35 
			  
			 Nottinghamshire 3,600 26 4,500 35 
			 Nottingham 1,000 27 1,200 36 
			 Nottinghamshire 2,600 26 3,300 35 
			  
			 West Midlands 16,300 22 23,900 34 
			 Birmingham 4,200 28 5,300 37 
			 Coventry 900 22 1,400 34 
			 Dudley 1,100 27 1,300 34 
			  
			 Hereford and Worcester 1,600 17 2,700 29 
			 Herefordshire 400 20 800 34 
			 Worcestershire 1,200 16 1,900 28 
			  
			 Sandwell 1,000 26 1,500 38 
			  
			 Shropshire 1,200 20 2,000 32 
			 Shropshire 600 17 1,200 31 
			 Telford and Wrekin 600 26 800 36 
			  
			 Solihull 700 24 900 32 
			  
			 Staffordshire 2,900 21 4,600 34 
			 Staffordshire 2,100 20 3,300 31 
			 Stoke-on-Trent 800 25 1,300 43 
			  
			 Walsall 800 23 1,300 37 
			 Warwickshire 1,200 18 1,900 29 
			 Wolverhampton 700 20 1,000 32 
			  
			 East of England 14,200 21 21,200 31 
			 Bedfordshire 1,500 19 2,400 31 
			 Bedfordshire 800 16 1,500 30 
			 Luton 700 25 900 33 
			  
			 Cambridgeshire 2,000 22 2,900 32 
			 Cambridgeshire 1,400 20 2,100 30 
			 Peterborough 600 27 800 38 
			  
			 Essex 4,700 23 7,000 35 
			 Essex 3,600 22 5,400 33 
			 Southend-on-Sea 500 25 700 34 
			 Thurrock 500 28 900 49 
			  
			 Hertfordshire 1,800 13 2,900 22 
			 Norfolk 2,300 24 3,500 37 
			 Suffolk 1,900 22 2,600 31 
			  
			 Greater London 16,200 18 24,300 28 
			 Inner London(36) 6,900 22 9,100 29 
			  
			 Outer London 9,300 16 15,200 27 
			 Barking and Dagenham 500 23 1,000 45 
			 Barnet 700 19 900 23 
			 Bexley 500 19 1,000 34 
			 Brent 500 14 800 23 
			 Bromley 700 20 900 26 
			 Croydon 800 17 1,100 24 
			 Ealing 600 16 1,200 30 
			 Enfield 500 13 900 26 
			 Greenwich 70 23 1,000 34 
			 Harrow 300 11 500 18 
			 Havering 500 17 1,000 34 
			 Hillingdon 600 18 800 27 
			 Hounslow 600 22 900 33 
			 Kingston upon Thames 200 14 400 23 
			 Merton 300 16 600 29 
			 Redbridge 300 10 700 23 
			 Richmond upon Thames 200 9 300 18 
			 Sutton 400 17 600 29 
			 Waltham Forest 300 12 700 24 
			  
			 North East 6,900 20 11,500 33 
			 Cleveland 1,600 19 2,700 33 
			 Hartlepool 300 19 500 34 
			 Middlesbrough 400 19 800 35 
			 Redcar and Cleveland 500 24 600 32 
			 Stockton-on-Tees 400 15 900 32 
			  
			 Durham 1,600 22 2,600 34 
			 Darlington 300 22 400 33 
			 Durham 1,300 21 2,100 34 
			  
			 Gateshead 600 22 900 35 
			 Newcastle upon Tyne 600 18 1,000 31 
			 North Tyneside 400 18 800 33 
			 Northumberland 800 21 1,200 31 
			 South Tyneside 400 20 700 33 
			 Sunderland 800 20 1,500 37 
			  
			 North West 20,000 21 29,600 32 
			 Bolton 700 20 1,200 31 
			 Bury 500 21 800 31 
			  
			 Cheshire 2,600 20 3,600 28 
			 Cheshire 1,700 20 2,300 27 
			 Halton 300 18 500 29 
			 Warrington 600 23 800 31 
			  
			 Cumbria 1,100 17 1,600 27 
			 Knowsley 500 20 900 40 
			  
			 Lancashire 4,500 23 6,500 33 
			 Blackburn with Darwen 400 17 600 28 
			 Blackpool 400 22 700 40 
			 Lancashire 3,700 24 5,100 33 
			  
			 Liverpool 1,300 21 2,300 36 
			 Manchester 1,300 22 1,800 31 
			 Oldham 800 25 1,100 34 
			 Rochdale 900 29 1,100 37 
			 St. Helens 600 24 700 31 
			 Salford 700 26 1,300 44 
			 Sefton 700 18 1,000 26 
			 Stockport 800 21 1,100 29 
			 Tameside 700 24 1,100 38 
			 Trafford 600 20 900 30 
			 Wigan 1,000 24 1,400 35 
			 Wirral 700 16 1,300 30 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 20,000 24 23,500 35 
			 Barnsley 900 30 1,200 42 
			 Bradford 1,700 24 2,400 35 
			 Calderdale 600 23 800 33 
			 Doncaster 1,200 28 1,600 40 
			  
			 Humberside 2,400 20 3,600 30 
			 East Riding of Yorkshire 700 17 800 21 
			 Kingston Upon Hull, City of 800 21 1,300 37 
			 North East Lincolnshire 600 26 800 35 
			 North Lincolnshire 300 17 600 30 
			  
			 Kirklees 1,400 26 1,800 35 
			 Leeds 3,100 32 3,700 39 
			  
			 North Yorkshire 1,600 16 3,300 33 
			 North Yorkshire 1,200 15 2,700 34 
			 York 400 17 600 28 
			  
			 Rotherham 800 25 1,300 40 
			 Sheffield 1,400 23 1,900 33 
			 Wakefield 1,200 28 1,700 39 
			  
			  
			 South East 19,499 19 30,300 30 
			 Berkshire 1,900 18 2,500 23 
			 Bracknell Forest 400 23 500 31 
			 Reading 300 17 500 32 
			 Slough 300 21 600 34 
			 West Berkshire 400 19 600 28 
			 Windsor and Maidenhead 300 15 400 22 
			 Wokingham 200 11   
			  
			 Buckinghamshire 1,800 20 2,800 31 
			 Buckinghamshire 1,200 20 1,700 27 
			 Milton Keynes 600 20 1,200 38 
			  
			 East Sussex 1,700 19 2,800 32 
			 Brighton and Hove 400 16 800 31 
			 East Sussex 1,200 20 2,000 33 
			  
			 Hampshire 4,200 20 6,700 32 
			 Hampshire 3,000 19 5,000 30 
			 Portsmouth 500 22 800 35 
			 Southampton 700 27 900 39 
			  
			 Isle of Wight 400 21 600 34 
			  
			 Kent 4,400 21 6,600 32 
			 Kent 3,500 20 5,300 31 
			 Medway 900 25 1,300 38 
			  
			 Oxfordshire 1,300 18 2,100 28 
			 Surrey 2,000 15 3,600 27 
			 West Sussex 1,800 19 2,600 30 
			  
			 South West 12,000 19 17,700 29 
			 Avon 2,500 20 3,800 31 
			 Bath and North East Somerset 300 14 500 23 
			 Bristol, City of 1,000 20 1,600 33 
			 North Somerset 500 22 700 29 
			 South Gloucestershire 700 24 1,000 34 
			  
			 Cornwall 1,100 17 1,800 28 
			  
			 Devon 2,700 20 4,000 30 
			 Devon 1,700 19 2,400 28 
			 Plymouth 600 19 1,00 33 
			 Torbay 400 26 500 34 
			  
			 Dorset 1,800 21 2,100 25 
			 Bournemouth 400 23 500 31 
			 Dorset 1,000 20 1,100 21 
			 Poole 400 23 500 28 
			  
			 Gloucestershire 1,300 17 2,100 29 
			 Somerset 1,200 17 1,800 27 
			 Wiltshire 1,400 17 2,200 29 
			 Swindon 400 18 700 32 
			 Wiltshire 900 17 1,500 28 
			  
			 England(37) 134,300 21 200,000 31 
		
	
	(36) Figures for individual Inner London LEAs cannot be estimated reliably, therefore only a total is provided. See paragraphs 19 of the SFR for further information.
	(37) Definitive national figures for participation in education and training are published in the SFR entitled Participation in education, training and employment by 16 to 18-year-olds in England, see section E in Notes to Editors.
	Note:
	Due to the margin of error surrounding local level participation estimates and the use of school level data for independent schools, participation rates can be over 100 per cent. For these areas, an asterisk is placed in the table.

Pre-school Education

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what representations she has received about the funding of three-year-old children for 33 weeks of pre-school education; and if she will make a statement.

Beverley Hughes: The Secretary of State does receive, from time-to-time, representation from a range of stakeholders, including local authorities, early years providers and national associations about funding for the free entitlement for early education for three and four-year-olds. From April 2006, the minimum entitlement will be increased from 33 weeks to 38 weeks a year.
	All local authorities receive, through the under-fives sub-block of the education formula spending share (EFSS), sufficient funding to enable them to meet their statutory responsibilities to provide a free early education place for all three and four-year-olds. Local authorities are responsible for determining the specific level of funding to providers in their area taking account of local needs and circumstances.

Departmental Consultants/Special Advisers

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many (a) consultants and (b) special advisers were employed by his Department in each year since 1997; what the cost of each was in each year; and if he will make a statement.

Karen Buck: The Department for Transport only came into existence on 29 May 2002. The number of consultants employed by the Department in the years since 29 May 2002 is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
	In relation to special advisors, I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by the Parliamentary Secretary for the Cabinet Office on 16 November 2005, Official Report, column 1257W.

Departmental Staff

Geoffrey Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how often on average civil servants moved posts within his Department in the last 10 years.

Karen Buck: The average length of time in each post for civil servants since the Department was created in 2002 was 2.95 years for staff in the centre and 2.27 years for staff in the Driving Standards Agency. The data for the other Executive Agencies is not available.

Freedom of Information

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many Freedom of Information applications his Department has received; how many have taken more than 20 days to process; and how many of these gave rise to complaints about the time taken.

Karen Buck: The FOI Act 2000 came fully into effect on 1 January 2005. Prior to 2005, the Department (as with all Government Departments) was operating under the non-statutory code of practice on access to government information and there is no centrally held record of those cases.
	Between 1 January and 30 June 2005, DfT (including its Executive agencies) received 893 FOI requests.
	738 (83 per cent.) of these were answered within the 20 day deadline. A further 49 (5 per cent.) were answered within a permitted extension to the 20 day deadline to consider complex public interest tests. Where such an extension is made, officials are instructed to keep applicants informed as to the likely time within which a reply can be expected.
	In summary, the total number of cases answered after the 20 day deadline was therefore 155, of which 106 had not been subject to a formal extension of the deadline to consider a public interest test.
	A total of three complaints have been received in respect of requests during the period about the time taken to respond.
	The Department for Constitutional Affairs is committed to publishing quarterly updates in relation to departmental performance under FOI, including information on both the volume and outcomes of requests. The bulletin for the second quarter (ie April to June 2005) was published on 30 September 2005 and can be found on the DCA website at http://www.foi.gov.uk/statsapr-jun05.htm and in the Libraries of both Houses. The next bulletin will be published before Christmas, while an annual report will be published in early 2006.

London Olympics

Gwyneth Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the total amount is to be spent on transport schemes connected to the 2012 Olympics.

Karen Buck: The transport plans for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic games were set out the Bid documents submitted to the International Olympic Committee in November 2004. This identified some 7.2 billion for transport projects connected with the Games. This includes planned schemes, such as Phase 2 of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link, which would have taken place regardless of the Olympics, as well as a number of schemes which are funded through Olympic budgets.

London Olympics

Gwyneth Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of whether the transport arrangement for the 2012 Olympic Games will be efficient without the completion of the Thameslink box development;
	(2)  whether the Thameslink box was a scheme included in the bid for the 2012 Olympic Games;
	(3)  what assessment he has made of the effect on passengers using transport services at the 2012 Olympic Games of the non-completion of the Thameslink box.

Karen Buck: The transport schemes needed for the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic games were set out in the Bid documents submitted to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in November 2004. In addition, in February 2005 the Department announced that, following a review, the King's Cross Northern Ticket Hall and Western Concourse would be completed in time for the 2012 Games. This will improve the passenger interchange with the Olympic. Javelin Service operating out of St. Pancras.
	The Thameslink Box was not included in the Olympic Bid documents or in any subsequent commitments to the IOC. Modelling produced in the development of the Bid has shown that adequate facilities will be in place at King's Cross and St. Pancras to cope with Olympic spectators. However, the Department is investigating the feasibility of an earlier fit out of the box in line with the completion of the CTRL Project and the transfer of Eurostar services to St. Pancras.

Railways

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans Network Rail has to increase funding for rail infrastructure along the Bexhill to London Victoria line.

Derek Twigg: This is an operational matter for Network Rail, who will be responding directly to my hon. Member.

Energy Consumption

Martin Horwood: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission what assessment he has made of the average energy consumption of the House of Commons between midnight and 6.30 am; how much of that figure is accounted for by (a) lights, (b) computers, (c) heating, (d) televisions and annunciators and (e) photocopiers; if he will estimate the energy consumed for each category in terms of (i) watts and (ii) metric tonnes of carbon emitted; and what the cost was of each category.

Nick Harvey: Electricity is purchased on a day/night tariff with the night period metered from midnight to 7 am. The average electricity consumption by the House of Commons estate during the night period in 200405 was 11,650 kWh, costing on average 600 per night. The metric tonnes equivalent of carbon emissions due to this electricity consumption was 1.363 tonnes. There is no breakdown available of the electricity consumption between lights, computers, annunciators and photocopiers.
	Heating is provided by natural gas and the night period is not separately metered. Assuming that 10 per cent. of natural gas consumption occurred during the midnight to 7 am night period, the average gas consumption by the House of Commons during the night period in 200405 was 5,090 kWh at a cost of 75.00. The metric tonnes equivalent of carbon emissions due to this natural gas consumption was 0.26 tonnes.

Casinos

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what provisions and regulations govern the size of the non-gambling space in casinos licensed under the Gambling Act 2005; and whether alcohol sales can take place in the non-gambling spaces.

Richard Caborn: Section 7(5) of the Gambling Act 2005 requires the Secretary of State to make regulations by reference to which any casino may be classified as a regional, large or small casino. Regulations under this subsection may make provision by reference to the floor area used or designated for a specified purpose. We set out our intentions in this respect in the Government's response to the First Report of the Joint Committee on the draft gambling Bill (Cm 6253). This information was also reproduced in my previous answer to you of 18 October 2005, Official Report, column 711W.
	Alcohol sales will be permitted in the non-gambling spaces, just as they were under the Gaming Act 1968.

Business Link

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the national performance targets are for Business Link; and what the performance has been against those targets of each Business Link office in Devon and Cornwall.

Alun Michael: For this year, there are there national performance targets for Business Link which are:
	1. Market penetration: to deliver the service to 36.6 per cent. of all business (measured against the Inter Departmental Business Register).
	2. Customer satisfaction: to achieve 90 per cent. of all customers to be satisfied with the service provided by Business Link.
	3. Additional target: to have offered a significant level of assistance (defined as intensive assistance) to more than 35,000 businesses this year.
	Business Link is a national brand delivered locally, and overseen by the Regional Development Agency in each area of England since April 2005. In Devon and Cornwall, Business Link performance is ahead of the regional target for penetration (32.2 per cent. of all businesses on the Inter Departmental Business Register) and for Intensive Assistance. The service is on track to meet the customer satisfaction target.

Gas Shortages

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry 
	(1)  what research his Department has conducted, prior to the beginning of November, on the economic impact of commercial gas users reducing demand in the event of gas shortages this winter;
	(2)  what research his Department had conducted, prior to the beginning of November, into the ability of commercial gas users to reduce demand in the event of gas shortages this winter.

Malcolm Wicks: holding answer 28 November 2005
	In May 2005 DTI published a report by the independent consultants Global Insight on the potential demand-side response of industrial gas users. This can be found at:
	http://www.dti.gov.uk/energy/publications/policy/index.shtml
	More recently, the DTI has commissioned, with industry support, two short studies to update and expand this work.

Householders' Contracts (Good and Services)

Andrew Robathan: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what decisions have been made regarding the cooling-off period for contracts between householders and (a) unsolicited visits by those offering services or goods and (b) solicited visits by those offering services or goods; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The Government's final response to the OFT report on doorstep selling has been delayed for a number of reasons.
	There was a substantial number of responses to the consultation, which needed to be considered carefully. In addition, the Government wished to await greater clarity on the impact of the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive (UCPD), which is specifically directed at aggressive and misleading sales practices towards vulnerable consumers. This clarity was not available until early summer 2005. We also wished to take account of the wider context set by the DTI's Consumer Strategy published in July.
	The Department held a stakeholder event earlier this month to explain this wider context for decisions on doorstep selling and to debate the pros and cons of the seven options for change originally consulted on. This was attended by key stakeholders from the doorstep selling industry, consumer groups, bodies representing vulnerable consumers, OFT and Trading Standards. In the light of the comments received from stakeholders, Ministers will be considering next steps and intend to publish a final response from the Government as soon as possible.

Householders' Contracts (Good and Services)

Andrew Robathan: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when he expects to announce his proposals following the consultation on doorstep selling and cold calling which closed in November 2004; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The Government's final response to the OFT report on doorstep selling has been delayed for a number of reasons.
	There was a substantial number of responses to the consultation, which needed to be considered carefully. In addition, the Government wished to await greater clarity on the impact of the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive (UCPD), which is specifically directed at aggressive and misleading sales practices towards vulnerable consumers. This clarity was not available until early summer 2005. We also wished to take account of the wider context set by the DTI's Consumer Strategy published in July.
	The Department held a stakeholder event earlier this month to explain this wider context for decisions on doorstep selling and to debate the pros and cons of the seven options for change originally consulted on. This was attended by key stakeholders from the doorstep selling industry, consumer groups, bodies representing vulnerable consumers, OFT and Trading Standards. In the light of the comments received from stakeholders, Ministers will be considering next steps and intend to publish a final response from the Government as soon as possible.

Low Skilled Workers

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what research his Department has undertaken on the scale of the shortage of low skilled workers in big cities in the UK.

Alun Michael: The Department for Trade and Industry has published a report on Regional Employment and Skills in the Knowledge Economy by Local Futures (URN 05/1328) which looks at regional differences in both the supply and demand for people at all skill levels. This is available in the House of Commons Library and can be obtained from DTI publications on 0845 015 0010 or from the Vote Office.
	The main source of information on skill shortages is the Learning and Skills Council's National Employers Skill Survey that in 2003 surveyed 72,000 employers. The survey is updated every other year and 2005 figures will be available shortly. It highlights skill shortages according to occupation (low skilled workers will typically be in elementary occupations) and while not looking at the city level provides information for each of the RDA regions and for the 27 local LSC areas. Other research in this area is being undertaken at the regional level and an example of this is the 'Northern Way' initiative that looks at the eight city regions in the three Northern RDAs http://thenorthernway.co.uk/docs/2005).

Housing

Jim Cousins: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many right-to-buy sales there were (a) in total and (b) as a proportion of available stock by (i) each council and (ii) each social landlord in Tyne and Wear in each year since commencement of the scheme; and what the size of the available stock was in each local authority in each year.

Yvette Cooper: The following table shows council housing stock and council housing right to buy sales as a total and as a proportion of available stock for the five Tyne and Wear local authorities. This excludes any preserved right to buy in Sunderland after the large scale voluntary transfer in 200001 as this information is not held centrally, and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	
		LA stock 1 April
		
			  Gateshead Newcastle upon Tyne North Tyneside South Tyneside Sunderland 
		
		
			 1980 38,719 50,315 32,270 34,706 51,385 
			 1981 39,308 50,995 32,518 34,748 51,639 
			 1982 39,617 50,152 31,568 33,541 50,669 
			 1983 37,403 48,577 29,725 32,657 48,172 
			 1984 36,703 47,548 29,532 31,412 46,611 
			 1985 36,157 47,037 29,006 30,544 45,872 
			 1986 35,797 46,512 28,744 29,919 52,168 
			 1987 35,128 46,027 28,495 29,336 51,913 
			 1988 34,423 45,434 27,550 28,931 51,064 
			 1989 33,311 44,660 26,576 28,110 50,124 
			 1990 32,324 43,678 25,655 26,994 48,772 
			 1991 31,387 42,201 24,874 26,483 47,077 
			 1992 30,887 41,209 24,486 26,116 45,681 
			 1993 30,465 40,368 24,058 25,619 44,540 
			 1994 29,774 39,894 23,413 25,252 43,379 
			 1995 29,375 39,224 23,018 24,742 42,450 
			 1996 28,880 38,778 22,761 24,484 41,368 
			 1997 28,545 38,196 22,565 24,199 40,579 
			 1998 27,845 37,226 22,110 23,913 39,751 
			 1999 27,446 36,555 21,309 23,501 38,982 
			 2000 26,856 35,748 20,626 23,089 37,869 
			 2001 26,165 35,280 20,151 22,731 0 
			 2002 25,557 34,447 19,219 22,184 0 
			 2003 24,663 33,277 18,524 21,499 0 
			 2004 23,494 32,369 17,408 20,228 0 
		
	
	Source:
	Housing Strategy Statistical Appendix
	
		LA right to buy sales
		
			  Gateshead Newcastle upon Tyne North Tyneside South Tyneside Sunderland 
		
		
			 198081 0 0 3 93 0 
			 198182 491 815 1,101 1,279 982 
			 198283 1,608 1,726 1,044 1,083 2,426 
			 198384 649 727 687 1,052 1,196 
			 198485 380 516 395 618 473 
			 198586 270 430 337 402 524 
			 198687 293 306 185 427 522 
			 198788 472 358 319 256 571 
			 198889 797 667 628 754 775 
			 198990 998 708 798 738 1,321 
			 199091 893 599 603 456 1,345 
			 199192 490 338 347 396 951 
			 199293 422 293 233 297 661 
			 199394 291 236 124 275 560 
			 199495 308 332 175 260 819 
			 199596 308 255 172 208 746 
			 199697 250 221 157 217 538 
			 199798 326 267 202 283 642 
			 199899 283 207 209 209 546 
			 19992000 452 316 345 355 695 
			 200001 445 266 338 (39) 1,178 
			 200102 510 569 396 (39) LSVT 
			 200203 708 323 594 (39) LSVT 
			 200304 1,043 664 1,030 (39) LSVT 
			 200405 514 867 723 (39) LSVT 
		
	
	(39) South Tyneside did not return data from 200001.
	Source:
	Quarterly returns (P1B) to ODPM from local authorities
	
		LA Right to Buy SalesProportion of total stock Newcastle Percentage
		
			  Gateshead Newcastle upon Tyne North Tyneside South Tyneside Sunderland 
		
		
			 198081 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.3 0.0 
			 198182 1.2 1.6 3.4 3.7 1.9 
			 198283 4.1 3.4 3.3 3.2 4.8 
			 198384 1.7 1.5 2.3 3.2 2.5 
			 198485 1.0 1.1 1.3 2.0 1.0 
			 198586 0.7 0.9 1.2 1.3 1.1 
			 198687 0.8 0.7 0.6 1.4 1.0 
			 198788 1.3 0.8 1.1 0.9 1.1 
			 198889 2.3 1.5 2.3 2.6 1.5 
			 198990 3.0 1.6 3.0 2.6 2.6 
			 199091 2.8 1.4 2.4 1.7 2.8 
			 199192 1.6 0.8 1.4 1.5 2.0 
			 199293 1.4 0.7 1.0 1.1 1.4 
			 199394 1.0 0.6 0.5 1.1 1.3 
			 199495 1.0 0.8 0.7 1.0 1.9 
			 199596 1.0 0.7 0.7 0.8 1.8 
			 199697 0.9 0.6 0.7 0.9 1.3 
			 199798 1.1 0.7 0.9 1.2 1.6 
			 199899 1.0 0.6 0.9 0.9 1.4 
			 19992000 1.6 0.9 1.6 1.5 1.8 
			 200001 1.7 0.7 1.6 (40) 3.1 
			 200102 1.9 1.6 2.0 (40) LSVT 
			 200203 2.8 0.9 3.1 (40) LSVT 
			 200304 4.2 2.0 5.6 (40) LSVT 
			 200405 2.2 2.7 4.2 (40) LSVT 
		
	
	(40) South Tyneside did not return data from 200001.
	Sources:
	Housing Strategy Statistical Appendix
	Quarterly returns (P1B) to ODPM from local authorities

Policies (Financial Report)

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister pursuant to the answer of 31 October 2005, Official Report, column 764W, on policies (financial report), if he will place in the Library copies of the costings carried out on the two documents to which the answer refers.

Jim Fitzpatrick: I refer the on. Member to HM Treasury's website:
	www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/about/information/foi_disclosures/foi_disclosures_index_cfm

Sir Christopher Meyer

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster who was responsible for vetting Sir Christopher Meyer's recent book and giving the approval for publication; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Murphy: I refer the hon. Member to the response given to him by my right hon. Friend, the Foreign Secretary, on 28 November 2005, Official Report, column 164W.

Criminal Records Bureau

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what requirements there are for further Criminal Records Bureau checks for individuals providing private tuition to young people where the tutor is not a teacher and holds an enhanced disclosure certificate.

Andy Burnham: The Criminal Records Bureau does not impose any requirement on individuals to obtain a disclosure. The decision whether to obtain a disclosure for a specific eligible position rests solely with the recruiter, bearing in mind any existing legal obligations which may govern their employment sector.
	Tutors working for private individuals, such as parents, are not generally eligible for enhanced disclosure because parents are not entitled to ask exempted questions under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975. An individual cannot at present obtain a disclosure without an exempted question being asked.
	However, if tutoring is carried out in a formalised environment, such as a school, the position is likely to be eligible for disclosure by virtue of being in a regulated position under the terms of the Criminal Justice and Court Services Act 2000 (CJCSA). Nevertheless the CRB imposes no requirement on such individuals to obtain disclosures, although other guidelines may make the work eligible for checks.

Fireworks Offences

Anthony D Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many illegal fireworks were seized in (a) Norfolk, (b) the East of England, (c) England and (d) England and Wales in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Gerry Sutcliffe: I have been asked to reply.
	The Department of Trade and Industry does not collect or hold figures on the number of seized illegal fireworks.
	Various agencies have powers to seize illegal fireworks: Customsillegally imported fireworks; Health and Safety Executiveillegally stored fireworks; Trading Standardsfireworks that do not comply with the regulations. However figures for these seizures are not collected centrally. My hon. Friend may wish to contact these agencies.

Identity Cards

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the impact of the proposed identity card scheme on (a) money laundering and (b) organised crime; and if he will make a statement.

Andy Burnham: The identity cards programme is working with representatives from law enforcement agencies and Her Majesty's Revenue  Customs to fully map the impact of the proposed identity cards scheme on efforts to defeat money laundering and organised crime. This work has contributed to the development of the identity cards benefits cases, an overview of which was published on 27 June 2005.
	False identities and false identity documents are standard 'tools of the trade' for organised criminal organisations. The work done with law enforcement agencies and Her Majesty's Revenue  Customs has confirmed that the identity card scheme can improve the intelligence picture available to the law enforcement agencies by providing fast, reliable access to identity and audit log data on intelligence targets and that greater certainty in establishing the identity of individuals involved in large cash transactions may have an additional deterrent effect in terms of money laundering and assist in investigations.

Identity Cards

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received on the arrangements for identity cardholders to register a change of address; and if he will make a statement.

Andy Burnham: The Identity Cards Programme Team has received a total of four letters from members of the public which mentioned updating address details on the National Identity Register. These letters were received between December 2004 and October 2005. These letters asked for clarification on the process for updating addresses on the Register and inquired whether there would be a charge for amending their record in this way.
	It is intended that updates of addresses will be both easy and secure. There will be a variety of methods to update addresses on the National Identity Register. This could include over the internet, by telephone or in writing but in each case, in order to protect individuals from bogus attempts to change their address details, there would need to be a validation of identity. The Identity Cards Programme is currently investigating the most secure method of conducting such remotely conducted transactions, including the use of new methods involving one-time passwords, which would provide much greater assurance than traditional methods.

Immigration

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the number of individuals with HIV who have stayed illegally in the UK for longer than 12 months.

Tony McNulty: Although it is impossible to determine accurately how many people are in the UK illegally the Home Office has published a report which included an estimate of the size of the illegal migrant population in the UK in 2001. A copy of the RDS On-line report 29/05 Sizing the unauthorised (illegal) migrant population in the United Kingdom in 2001 can be found at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/notes/june_summaries. htmlrdsolr2905.
	This estimate does not separately identify those who have stayed illegally in the UK for longer than 12 months, and there is no evidence on which an estimate of the proportion of such people who are HIV positive could be based.

Immigration and Nationality Directorate

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of replies to letters from hon. Members to the immigration and nationality directorate were sent within 20 days of receipt of the letter in the last 12 months for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: In 2004, 34 per cent. of letters from Members on immigration and nationality (IND)-related matters were answered within 20 days. The year to date figure for 2005 is currently around 50 per cent., though for the last two months (August and September) it has exceeded 70 per cent. This improvement has been made against a backdrop of huge increases in correspondence volumes: 24,700 letters from Members in 2003; 35,800 in 2004; and 30,600 in 2005 up to the end of September (and so likely to exceed 40,000 by December).

Immigration and Nationality Directorate

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) (i) letters and (ii) emails were sent and (b) phone calls were made by each hon. Member and their staff to (A) the Immigration and Nationality Directorate and (B) the Minister for Immigration in the period 6 May to 31 October, ranked in descending order of total number of representations made; how many received a substantive reply in each case; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: The available information is contained in the table which I have placed in the Library. The total number of telephone calls during this period was 18,963. A breakdown of these calls by individual Member is not available because it is not possible for the call handling equipment to identify from which Member's office a call is being made.
	We are constantly striving to improve the service the Immigration and Nationality Directorate (IND) provides to Members. During October I held a series of three meetings with newly-elected Members and those who write most often on IND-related matters. These meetings were intended as an opportunity for Members to tell me how IND needs to improve its communications with them. I shall shortly be writing to all Members setting out how we intend moving forward on the areas for improvement which the meetings identified.

International Arrest Warrants

Phyllis Starkey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  whether his Department is considering proposals to amend guidelines to the police on international arrest warrants;
	(2)  whether his Department is considering proposals to amend legislation on international arrest warrants.

Andy Burnham: The Government are currently considering a range of issues relating to the issuing of arrest warrants in international cases but has not yet concluded what changes, if any, are required.

International Arrest Warrants

Phyllis Starkey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  what representations his Department has received from the (a) Israeli Government and (b) United States Administration concerning amendments to legislation on international arrest warrants;
	(2)  what meetings (a) he and (b) his Department (i) has had since 11 September and (ii) is planning to have with representatives of the Israeli (A) Ministry of Law, (B) State Attorney Office and (C) Foreign Ministry regarding the arrest warrant for General Almog.

Andy Burnham: I refer my hon. Friend to my previous answer of 24 November 2005. Since the meeting referred to in that answer, Home Office officials have participated in one further meeting, with Israeli officials. The detail of that meeting is confidential. No further meetings are scheduled.
	Home Office officials have had no direct contact with the United States Administration concerning amendments to legislation regarding international arrest warrants.

IRIS Project

Ben Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will publish the evaluation of the project IRIS operational pilot.

Tony McNulty: The evaluation of the Project IRIS operational pilot will be commercially sensitive but I will report the key findings to the House when appropriate.

Managed Migration Routes

Neil Gerrard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which managed migration routes are being reviewed; if he will list countries which are on hold as a result of the review; and when he expects the review to be completed.

Tony McNulty: My right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister announced a review of all managed migration routes on 27 April 2004 in his speech to the Confederation of British Industry on migration. No routes from specific countries are on hold as a result of this review. The review culminated in the five year strategy on asylum and immigration Controlling our Borders: Making Migration Work for Britain which was published on 7 February 2005. Our consultation on the subsequent document on the proposed points-based system for managed migration, Selective admission: making migration work for Britain, closed on 7 November 2005 and the Government expects to publish its response in the new year.

Police Reform Act (Schedule 4)

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been (a) required not to consume alcohol in a designated public place and (b) forced to surrender any alcohol or container for alcohol by (i) community support officers and (ii) police officers under paragraph 5 of schedule 4 to the Police Reform Act 2002 in each of the last four years, broken down by police authority.

Paul Goggins: Information from the Home Office Court Proceedings database on the number of defendants prosecuted for contravening a community support officers requirement to surrender liquor and not to consumer liquor, by police force area, is shown in the table.
	Court statistics for 2005 will be available in autumn 2006. Similar information is not available in respect of police officers.
	In addition to the aforementioned, information was collected on alcohol confiscations undertaken during the nationwide 2004 summer Alcohol Misuse Enforcement Campaign (AMEC). The campaign started at the beginning of July 2004 and ended at the end of August 2004 and the results were published in a Lessons Learned document. This showed that in total the police confiscated alcohol from 9,677 people. Two-thirds of these (66 per cent.) confiscations were from alcohol exclusion zones or designated areas, and one-third (34 per cent.) were from youths. During a similar shorter two-week Christmas 2004/new year 2005 AMEC the police confiscated alcohol from 1,560 youths and 1,290 adults in a designated area. The following number of Designated Public Places Orders have been introduced: three in 2001; 69 in 2002; 78 in 2003; 92 in 2004; 59 so far in 2005.
	
		Number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts for certain offences, by police force area, 1999 to 2004(42)
		
			  Offence description  Principal statute  Year  Police force area Proceeded against 
		
		
			 Contravening a community support officers' requirement to surrender liquor Police Reform Act 2002 Sch 4 Para 6 (Confiscation of Alcohol (Young Persons) Act 1997 S.1) 1999 Hampshire 1 
			Lancashire 1 
			Merseyside 1 
			Sussex 1 
			Total 4 
			  
			   2000 Hampshire 1 
			Humberside 1 
			Lancashire 1 
			Wiltshire 1 
			Total 4 
			  
			   2001 Cumbria 1 
			Devon and Cornwall 1 
			Thames Valley 1 
			Gwent 1 
			Total 4 
			  
			   2002 Cleveland 1 
			Metropolitan Police 2 
			Northumbria 2 
			Total 5 
			  
			   2003 North Yorkshire 1 
			Northumbria 1 
			Staffordshire 1 
			North Wales 1 
			Total 4 
			  
			   2004 Essex 1 
			Humberside 3 
			Metropolitan Police 1 
			Northumbria 3 
			Staffordshire 1 
			West Midlands 2 
			South Wales 1 
			Total 12 
			 Contravene a community support officers' requirement not to consume liquor Police Reform Act 2002 Sch 4 Para 5 (Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001 S.12) 2002 Avon and Somerset 1 
			Bedfordshire 3 
			Cumbria 1 
			Devon and Cornwall 2 
			Dorset 1 
			Greater Manchester 1 
			Humberside 2 
			Lancashire 1 
			Leicestershire 1 
			Metropolitan Police 16 
			Northumbria 1 
			Sussex 3 
			West Mercia 2 
			Wiltshire 1 
			North Wales 1 
			Total 37 
			  
			   2003 Avon and Somerset 4 
			Bedfordshire 13 
			Devon and Cornwall 8 
			Gloucestershire 1 
			Greater Manchester 1 
			Lancashire 4 
			Metropolitan Police 36 
			Norfolk 11 
			Northumbria 3 
			Staffordshire 3 
			Sussex 1 
			Thames Valley 15 
			West Midlands 3 
			West Yorkshire 3 
			Wiltshire 1 
			Gwent 1 
			Total 108 
			  
			   2004 Avon and Somerset 9 
			Bedfordshire 4 
			Derbyshire 2 
			Devon and Cornwall 6 
			Dorset 1 
			Gloucestershire 2 
			Greater Manchester 4 
			Hampshire 1 
			Lancashire 2 
			Metropolitan Police 19 
			Norfolk 3 
			Northumbria 5 
			Staffordshire 1 
			Sussex 7 
			Thames Valley 31 
			West Mercia 1 
			West Midlands 13 
			Wiltshire 2 
			Gwent 4 
			North Wales 2 
			South Wales 3 
			Total 122 
		
	
	(42) These data are on the principal offence basis.

Terrorist Suspects

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress has been made in negotiations with (a) Algeria, (b) Egypt, (c) Tunisia, (d) Morocco, (e) Libya, (f) Pakistan, (g) Sri Lanka and (h) India, regarding deportation and exclusion powers relating to those suspected of terrorism.

Tony McNulty: We have signed Memoranda of Understanding with Jordan and with Libya regulating the provision of assurances in respect of people who are being deported.
	We have said that we are in negotiations with the governments of Algeria and the Lebanon. Those negotiations are continuing, and we hope to conclude them shortly.
	It would be premature to comment on the state of any other negotiations or to identify the country or countries involved.
	The power to exclude relates solely to cases where the person concerned is outside the United Kingdom. It is a unilateral decision, and we have not had any negotiations with other countries regarding the use of this power.

Benefit Expenditure

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much was spent on (a) jobseeker's allowance, (b) incapacity benefit and (c) the administration of each in (i) 1997 and (ii) the most recent year for which information is available; and how many recipients of each benefit there were at 1 January in each year.

James Plaskitt: holding answer 30 November 2005
	The information regarding the amount spent on jobseeker's allowance and incapacity benefit is in the table.
	
		Expenditure on incapacity benefit and jobseeker's allowance in Great Britain in 199798 and 200405 Million
		
			  Nominal terms Real terms 
			  199798 200405 199798 200405 
		
		
			 Contribution-based Jobseeker's Allowance 475 438 576 449 
			 Income-based Jobseeker's Allowance 3,418 1,729 4,144 1,772 
			 Total Jobseeker's Allowance 3,893 2,167 4,720 2,221 
			 Incapacity Benefitworking age 6,744 6,679 8,175 6,846 
			 Severe Disablement Allowance Working Age 862 783 1,045 802 
			 Income Support for people under 60s, excluding the unemployed  Long Term Sick and Disabled 3,163 4,786 3,834 4,906 
			 Income Support for people under 60s, excluding the unemployed  Short Term Sick 516 421 625 431 
			 Total Working Age incapacity benefits 11,285 12,669 13,679 12,985 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. All data is consistent with the 2005 Budget.
	2. All figures have been rounded to the nearest million pounds.
	3. The DWP Expenditure Tables can be accessed at the following internet address:
	http://www.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd4/medium_term.asp
	Source:
	The Expenditure data has been taken from tables 1, 2, 3, 4 and 7 of the DWP Expenditure Tables.
	Information regarding the administration cost of jobseeker's allowance and incapacity benefit is not currently available in the format requested. In accordance with the requirements of Resource Accounting and Budgeting the Department now accounts for its administration and benefit expenditure by Strategic Objective, as set out in its public service agreements (PSA) and by individual Requests for Resources (RfR's), as set out in the Departmental Estimates and Accounts. Information on administrative expenditure by strategic objective is available in the Departmental Report for 2005 (Cm 6539), which is available in the Library.
	The available information regarding the number of recipients of jobseeker's allowance and incapacity benefit is in the tables.
	
		Jobseeker's allowance recipients: Great Britain, January and February 1997 and 2005
		
			  1997 2005 
		
		
			 January 1,747,300 784,800 
			 February 1,684,800 788,600 
		
	
	Note:
	Figures are seasonally adjusted.
	Source:
	Seasonally adjusted count of unemployment-related benefits, Jobcentre Plus computer systems.
	
		Working age incapacity benefit/severe disability allowance beneficiaries: Great Britain, February 1997 and 2005
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 1997 1,974,100 
			 2005 1,786,900 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Caseloads are rounded to the nearest 100.
	2. February 1997 figures were produced using the 5 per cent. data and have been rated up proportionally for consistency with the WPLS 100 per cent. IB/SDA totals.
	3. 'Beneficiaries' figures include all IB and SDA (excluding IB credits only cases).
	Source:
	DWP Information Directorate, five per cent Sample for 1997 and Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study (WPLS) 100 per cent. data for 2005.

Benefit Expenditure

Edward Balls: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much has been spent on (a) jobseeker's allowance and (b) incapacity benefit in (i) West Yorkshire and (ii) Normanton constituency since 2001.

James Plaskitt: The information is in the tables.
	
		Jobseeker's allowance and incapacity benefits expenditure in West Yorkshire and the Normanton parliamentary constituency  millions, nominal terms
		
			   Outturn 
			   200102 200203 200304 2004051 
		
		
			 Total jobseeker's allowance, of which: West Yorkshire 115.261 109.761 101.889 81.844 
			  Normanton 3.091 2.464 1.941 1.788 
			 Jobseeker's allowancecontribution based West Yorkshire 18.638 19.119 17.938 15.706 
			  Normanton 1.009 0.847 0.692 0.541 
			 Jobseeker's allowanceincome based West Yorkshire 96.623 90.642 83.951 66.138 
			  Normanton 2.082 1.617 1.249 1.247 
			   
			 Total incapacity benefits, of which: West Yorkshire 477.805 481.689 485.254 501.234 
			  Normanton 16.949 16.530 16.362 17.252 
			 Incapacity benefitworking age West Yorkshire 263.024 265.096 261.094 263.248 
			  Normanton 11.546 11.559 11.303 11.473 
			 Severe disablement allowanceworking age West Yorkshire 31.698 28.638 27.463 28.118 
			  Normanton 1.411 1.291 1.209 1.171 
			   
			 Income support for people under 60, excluding West Yorkshire 164.071 168.732 177.060 191.211 
			 the unemployedlong-term sick and disabled Normanton 3.514 3.239 3.370 4.088 
			 Income support for people under 60, excluding West Yorkshire 19.012 19.223 19.637 18.657 
			 the unemployedshort-term sick Normanton 0.478 0.441 0.480 0.520 
		
	
	(43) Estimated.
	
		Jobseeker's allowance and incapacity benefits expenditure in West Yorkshire and the Normanton parliamentary constituency  millions, real terms (200506 prices)
		
			   Outturn 
			   200102 200203 200304 2004051 
		
		
			 Total jobseeker's allowance, of which: West Yorkshire 128.116 117.964 106.504 83.891 
			  Normanton 3.436 2.648 2.030 1.832 
			 Jobseeker's allowancecontribution based West Yorkshire 20.717 20.548 18.750 16.099 
			  Normanton 1.122 0.910 0.724 0.554 
			 Jobseeker's allowanceincome based West Yorkshire 107.399 97.416 87.754 67.792 
			  Normanton 2.314 1.738 1.306 1.278 
			   
			 Total working age incapacity benefits, of which: West Yorkshire 531.092 517.688 507.235 513.768 
			  Normanton 18.839 17.764 17.102 17.683 
			 Incapacity benefitworking age West Yorkshire 292.358 284.908 272.921 269.830 
			  Normanton 12.834 12.422 11.815 11.760 
			 Severe disablement allowanceworking age West Yorkshire 35.233 30.778 28.707 28.822 
			  Normanton 1.568 1.388 1.264 1.200 
			   
			 Income support for people under 60, excluding West Yorkshire 182.369 181.343 185.081 195.993 
			 the unemployedlong-term sick and disabled Normanton 3.905 3.481 3.522 4.190 
			 Income support for people under 60, excluding West Yorkshire 21.132 20.659 20.526 19.123 
			 the unemployedshort-term sick Normanton 0.532 0.473 0.501 0.533 
		
	
	(44) Estimated.
	Notes:
	1. Parliamentary constituencies and local authorities are assigned by matching postcodes against the relevant postcode directory.
	2. West Yorkshire (Metropolitan County) is made up of the following local authorities: Bradford, Calderdale, Kirklees, Leeds and Wakefield.
	3. Incapacity benefit and severe disablement allowance expenditure has been apportioned using DWP Information Directorate, Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study, 100 per cent. Data.
	4. Jobseeker's allowance and income support expenditure has been apportioned using DWP Information Directorate Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study, 5 per cent. samples.
	5. Income support long-term sick and disabled expenditure is income support paid to claimants who receive a disability premium.
	6. Income support short-term sick expenditure is income support paid to claimants who have been sick for less than 365.
	7. Figures relate to working age claimants only.
	8. Figures for 200405 are estimated outturn.
	9. Figures are expressed in millions but rounded to the nearest hundred thousand pounds.
	10. Real term figures are in 200506 prices.
	11. Totals may not sum due to rounding.
	12. Expenditure data is consistent with the Budget 2005 Report and the Great Britain historical outturn expenditure figures published in the DWP Expenditure Tables.
	13. The DWP Expenditure Tables can be accessed at the following internet address: www.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd4/medium_term.asp.
	Source:
	DWP Cross-Cutting Strategy and Analysis Directorate and DWP Information Directorate.

Benefit Payments

David Mundell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in Scotland receive a social security benefit.

James Plaskitt: The most recent available information is in the tables.
	
		All ages client-group benefit claimants in Scotland by statistical client group as at May 2004
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 All 1,555,700 
			 Jobseeker's 94,200 
			 Incapacity benefits 325,500 
			 Lone parents 72,100 
			 Carers 58,200 
			 Others on income-related benefits 243,300 
			 Disabled 177,700 
			 Bereaved 17,200 
			 Receiving state pension only 567,500 
		
	
	Source:
	DWP Information Directorate, 100 per cent. Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study
	
		All housing benefit (HB) and council tax benefit (CTB) claimants in Scotland by statistical group as at May 2004
		
			  HB CTB 
		
		
			 All claimants 446,900 539,700 
			 Those in receipt of passport benefits 325,200 367,600 
			 Not in receipt of passport benefits 121,800 172,100 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. The figures are rounded to the nearest hundred.
	2. Totals may not sum due to rounding.
	3. All ages client group includes claimants of one or more of jobseeker's allowance, income support, incapacity benefit, severe disablement allowance, disability living allowance, carer's allowance, pension credit, bereavement benefit or widow's benefit, attendance allowance and state pension.
	4. Passport benefits are income support, income-based jobseekers allowance, and pension credit (guaranteed credit).
	5. Housing benefit figures exclude any extended payment cases.
	6. Council tax benefit totals exclude any second adult rebate cases.
	7. Overlaps exist between housing benefit and council tax benefit and all ages client group.
	8. HB/CTB figures have been estimated for non-responding local authorities.
	Source:
	Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit Management Information System, Quarterly 100 per cent. sample, taken in May 2004

Child Support Agency

Michael Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what progress has been made on the migration of existing cases with the Child Support Agency to the new maintenance system; and if he will make a statement;

Mark Todd: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make a statement on progress being made towards transferring Child Support Agency cases on to the new system.

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he expects all Child Support Agency cases to be transferred to the new maintenance scheme.

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he estimates that all the Child Support Agency cases on the old system of maintenance calculation will have transferred to the new system of maintenance calculation; and if he will make a statement.

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when all Child Support Agency cases will be transferred to the new maintenance scheme.

James Plaskitt: The Child Support Agency's Chief Executive, Stephen Geraghty, is currently undertaking a root and branch review of the agency. He will report to Ministers and we will make announcements shortly.

Child Support Agency

Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many cases of (a) harassment, (b) bullying and (c) discrimination have been reported to the Child Support Agency in each of the last five years.

James Plaskitt: The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the chief executive, Mr. Stephen Geraghty. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.
	Letter from Stephen Geraghty, dated 30 November 2005
	In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Support Agency, the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive.
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many cases of (a) harassment (b) bullying and (c) discrimination have been reported to the Child Support Agency in each of the last five years.
	The numbers of harassment, bullying and discrimination cases formally reported to the Agency in the last five years are as follows:
	
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 200001 34 
			 200102 49 
			 200203 32 
			 200304 44 
			 200405 22 
		
	
	The nature of the complaints does not allow separation of the data into the constituent elements of harassment, bullying and discrimination.
	I hope you find this response helpful.

Departmental Websites

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what websites come under his Department's responsibility; and what the (a) cost and (b) number of visitors to those sites was in the last year for which figures are available.

Stephen Timms: The following table provides a list of departmental sites. Costs have been provided where possible. The table also includes number of visitors to those sites in the financial year 200405.
	Notes
	1. Production, management and maintenance of DWP websites are carried out by the Department's in-house e-communications team. It is not possible to quantify internal costs for each site but contracted and quantifiable costs have been included where possible. 2. Departmental sites are hosted by our IT contractors. In most cases it is not possible to separate these costs from contracted costs. 3. The complex interactive nature of the services that Jobcentre Plus and Worktrain websites provide does allow for web hosting and other costs to be accounted separately. These have been included in the table.
	
		DWP website and main agency sites: costs and numbers of visitors
		
			   200405 
			 Site Address Costs () Number of visitors (visitor sessions) 
		
		
			 DWP www.dwp.gov.uk 101,467 2,562,156 
			 Jobcentre Plus www.jobcentreplus.gov.uk 8,639,571 31,317,249 
			 The Pension Service www.thepensionservice.gov.uk  2,093,739 
			 Child Support Agency www.csa.gov.uk  1,253,519 
			 Direct gov Disability Franchise www.direct.gov.uk/disability www.directgov.uk/caringforsomeone 750,000 769,486 
			 
			 Other DWP websites: costs and numbers of visitors 
			 Worktrain www.worktrain.gov.uk 2,241,918 2,733,351 
			 European Social Fund www.esf.gov.uk 28,500 392,038 
			 New Deal www.newdeal.gov.uk  902,476 
			 Age Positive www.agepositive.gov.uk  1,137,532 
			 Employment Zones www.employmentzones.gov.uk  155,889 
			 Disability www.disability.gov.uk  981,470 
			 Targeting Benefit Fraud www.targetingbenefitfraud.gov.uk  198,623

Housing Benefit

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what the standard weekly rate of earnings disregard for housing benefit is; how often this has been uprated since its introduction; and what the earnings disregard would be if the initial rate of the disregard were uprated in line with inflation from the year in which it was introduced;
	(2)  what representations he has received regarding an uprating of the earnings disregard for housing benefit for single parents and disabled people; and if he will make a statement.

James Plaskitt: We have not had any representations about issues relating to earnings disregards in housing benefit for single parents or the disabled.
	Details of the information requested about earnings disregards in housing benefit are in the table.
	
		Housing benefit earnings disregards at introduction, currently and uprated by inflation since introduction 
		
			  Year introduced Weekly rate when introduced Current weekly rate Weekly rate if uprated with inflation(45) 
		
		
			 Single Person 1988 5.00 5.00 8.35 
			 Couple 1988 10.00 10.00 16.75 
			 Higher Rate(46) 1988 15.00 (46)20.00 25.10 
			 Lone Parents(47) 1990 25.00 25.00 38.00 
		
	
	(45) In the final column the earnings disregards have been uprated using the retail price index (RPI) minus housing costs in the preceding September. Figures are rounded to the nearest 5p.
	(46) The higher rate of disregard, which applies to carers, people with disabilities, part-time fire-fighters, lifeboat-men, auxiliary coastguards, and members of any territorial or reserve force, was increased from 15 to 20 in 2001.
	(47) The weekly rate for lone parents has not increased since it was introduced in 1990. However, lone parents were entitled to the higher rate of 15 before 1990.
	Note:
	The standard disregard for singles and couples has not been increased since being introduced in 1988.

Housing Benefit

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the difference between the average amount of housing benefit awarded and the average costs of rent in (a) Huddersfield and (b) the UK.

James Plaskitt: Information is not available for the UK or by parliamentary constituency. Information for Great Britain and Kirklees metropolitan council is in the table.
	
		Weekly average housing benefit awarded, average eligible rent(48) and average contractual rent, by tenancy
		
			  Great Britain Kirklees MBC 
		
		
			 Social sector   
			 Average HB awarded 58.70 50.11 
			 Average eligible rent 62.87 53.15 
			
			 Private rented sector   
			 Average HB awarded 81.74 56.06 
			 Average contractual rent 108.07 80.70 
		
	
	(48) For tenants in the social rented sector it is assumed that the eligible rent (the maximum amount of rent eligible for housing benefit) is equal to contractual rent because the maximum housing benefit entitlement for these tenants is typically equal to their rent. The amount of HB awarded accounts for non dependant deductions and income brought to account so on average the amount of HB awarded will be less than the costs of rent.
	Sources:
	Housing Benefit Management Information System Quarterly 100 per cent.case load stock-count May 2005, Private Rented Sector contractual rent figures are from Rent Officer data May 2005 and apply to deregulated cases only.

Housing Benefit

Ben Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what guidance his Department issues to local authorities concerning war pensions when assessing eligibility for housing benefit.

James Plaskitt: In recognition of the special nature of war disablement and war widow's and war widower's pensions, there is a statutory 10 per week disregard of these payments.
	In addition, there is a total disregard of the whole of the supplementary pension awarded to pre-1973 war widows (widows whose late husband's military service was completed before 31 March 1973 and who are not entitled to an attributable widow's pension from the Ministry of Defence).
	There is also a full disregard of any mobility supplement and payment of war disablement pension based on a need for attendance.
	For housing benefit and council tax benefit purposes, local authorities, who administer these benefits, have discretionary powers to operate a local scheme to disregard up to the full amount of a war disablement pension and war widow's/widower's pension not already subject to a statutory disregard. It is for each local authority to decide how much, if anything, it disregards.
	From April 2004, local authorities operating a discretionary local scheme will receive a 0.2 per cent. addition to their annual subsidy, capped at 75 per cent. of the total benefit cost to the LA of the local scheme.
	The rationale behind this change to the subsidy rules on discretionary local schemes is to provide recognition through the subsidy system of the existence of such schemes in local authorities. It does not relate to the extent of the disregard that the local authority applies, which remains a matter for individual local authorities.

Incapacity Benefit

Geraldine Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people are claiming incapacity benefit in each of the Lancashire constituencies.

Anne McGuire: The most recent available information is in the table.
	
		Incapacity benefit and severe disablement allowance claimants in the Lancashire parliamentary constituencies; as at May 2005
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 Blackburn 7,600 
			 Blackpool North and Fleetwood 6,600 
			 Blackpool South 8,200 
			 Burnley 6,800 
			 Chorley 4,900 
			 Fylde 4,200 
			 Hyndburn 6,400 
			 Lancaster and Wyre 3,900 
			 Morecambe and Lunesdale 5,300 
			 Pendle 5,700 
			 Preston 6,800 
			 Ribble Valley 3,400 
			 Rossendale and Darwen 5,800 
			 South Ribble 3,800 
			 West Lancashire 5,100 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Figures are rounded to the nearest hundred.
	2. 'Claimant' figures include all incapacity benefit (IB) and severe disability allowance (including IB credits only cases).
	Source:
	DWP Information Directorate, Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study 100 per cent. data.

Incapacity Benefit

Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people have been found guilty of fraudulently claiming incapacity benefit in (a) Jarrow constituency, (b) South Tyneside, (c) North East and (d) the United Kingdom in each year since 1997.

Anne McGuire: The information is not available.

Income Support

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many and what proportion of income support recipients were disabled in (a) May 1997 and (b) May 2005; and if he will make a statement.

James Plaskitt: There is no single legal definition of disability. However, a disability premium is payable to entitled income support claimants, this information is provided in the following table.
	
		Income support claimants with a disability premium: Great Britain
		
			  All income support claimants Income support claimants with a disability premium Proportion (percentage) 
		
		
			 May 1997 2,287,600 845,100 36.9 
			 May 2005 2,140,500 1,115,700 52.1 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Caseloads are rounded to the nearest 100.
	2. Percentages are given to one decimal place.
	3. For comparison purposes, the 1997 figure excludes pensioners. Pensioners have not been able to claim income support since October 2003.
	4. May 1997 figures have been derived by applying 5 per cent. proportions to 100 per cent. WPLS totals.
	Source:
	DWP Information Directorate Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study (WPLS)

Mental Health (Employment)

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps he is taking to tackle discrimination against people with mental health problems who are seeking work.

Anne McGuire: Many people with mental health conditions will be covered by the provisions in Part 2 of the Disability Discrimination Act which provide comprehensive protection against disability discrimination in recruitment and employment. These require an employer not to discriminate against disabled people for a reason related to their disability, but also to consider reasonable adjustments to job application or selection processes, and to premises, practices or procedures, if these would otherwise put a disabled person at a substantial disadvantage.
	In addition, from 5 December 2005, under provisions in the Disability Discrimination Act 2005, the requirement that a mental illness must be clinically well-recognised before it can be regarded as an impairment under the DDA 1995 will be ended, making it easier for people with mental health illnesses to enforce their rights.
	Around 40 per cent. of all people making a claim for incapacity benefits say that mental health is their main health barrier. Consequently, Pathways advisers have received specialist training in supporting customers with mental health conditions and our Condition Management programmes have a particular emphasis upon advising people on how to manage their condition in a work context.

Poverty

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many pensioners were living in poverty in West Lancashire in each of the last 20 years for which figures are available.

Stephen Timms: The seventh annual Opportunity for all report, published recently, sets out the Government's strategy for tackling poverty and social exclusion and presents information on the indicators used to measure progress.
	Information on the number of pensioners in low income is not available below regional level. The following table gives estimates for the number of pensioners in relative low income and absolute low income in the North West.
	
		Number of pensioners living in households with incomes below 60 per cent. of GB median income in the North West and Merseyside (in millions) based on three year rolling averages (relative low income)
		
			  Before housing costs After housing costs 
		
		
			 199495 to 199697 0.26 0.31 
			 199596 to 199798 0.27 0.32 
			 199697 to 199899 0.29 0.33 
			 199798 to 199900 0.29 0.32 
			 199899 to 200001 0.28 0.30 
			 19992000 to 200102 0.27 0.28 
			 200001 to 200203 0.28 0.27 
			 200102 to 200304 0.28 0.26 
		
	
	
		Number of pensioners living in households with incomes below 60 per cent. of 199697 GB median income held constant in real terms in the North West (in millions) based on three year rolling averages (absolute low income)
		
			  Before housing costs After housing costs 
		
		
			 199495 to 199697 0.30 0.35 
			 199596 to 199798 0.28 0.33 
			 199697 to 199899 0.27 0.31 
			 199798 to 199900 0.26 0.27 
			 199899 to 200001 0.23 0.22 
			 19992000 to 200102 0.20 0.17 
			 200001 to 200203 0.18 0.14 
			 200102 to 200304 0.16 0.12 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Figures are provided using a three-year rolled average, as single-year estimates do not provide a robust guide to year on year changes. Hence, figures are not consistent with previously published single-year estimates and there may be differences in changes over time. Due to this, the absolute and relative figures in 199697 to 199899 will not necessarily match. In circumstances such as a change in trend, rolled-averages will show less variation than single year estimates.
	2. The estimates use the same methodology as the Department for Work and Pensions publication 'Households Below Average Income' (HBAI). Income is net of income tax and council tax, and adjusted for household size and composition.
	3. Numbers are rounded to the nearest 10,000.
	Source:
	Family Resources Survey (FRS)

Railways (Health and Safety)

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will list the (a) technical and financial contracts, (b) technical consultants used on a call-off basis and (c) financial consultants used on a call-off basis by (i) the Health and Safety Commission, (ii) the Health and Safety Executive relating to railway matters since 1 November 2003; what the nature of the assignment for each consultant was; and what the value of work done by each consultant was.

Anne McGuire: In addition to all the rail-related work commissioned by the Health and Safety Commission's (HSC) Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and undertaken by HSE's own internal Health and Safety Laboratory, since 1 November 2003, HSE has engaged the following external technical and financial consultants:
	
		
			  Name of consultant  Nature of the assignment Value of the work (000) 
		
		
			 University of Newcastle Comparison of the Hatfield and alternative UK rails using models to assess the effect of  residual stress on crack growth 55,000 
			 Bombardier Storage of carriages at Adtranz, CreweHatfield derailment 315 
			 NRPB Survey into the radiological impact of the normal transport of radioactive material by rail 22 
			 Deloitte and Touche(49) Evaluation of HSE's Control of Major Accident Hazards (COMAH) Gas, Offshore and  Rail charging regimes(49) (49)214 
			 University College London Analytical work in support of the HSC Working Group to examine risk to rail users from  road vehicles obstructing the railways 7 
		
	
	(49) The rail element was a component of a larger HSE study.

Race Equality Impact Assessments

Keith Vaz: To ask the Prime Minister how many Race Equality Impact Assessments his Office completed between (a) April 2004 and March 2005 and (b) April 2005 and November 2005; and how many assessments in each period resulted in a change of policy.

Tony Blair: For these purposes my office forms part of the Cabinet Office. I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given to him by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Secretary for the Cabinet Office (Mr. Murphy) today.

Sick Leave

David Davies: To ask the Prime Minister how many of his Offices' employees who are within one year of the official retirement age are on extended sick leave.

Tony Blair: For these purposes my Office forms part of the Cabinet Office. I have therefore asked my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Secretary for the Cabinet Office (Mr. Murphy) to reply. A copy of the reply will be placed in the Library of the House.

Special Advisers

Lynne Jones: To ask the Prime Minister if he will make it Government policy for special advisers to give evidence to parliamentary committees if asked.

Tony Blair: As I made clear in my evidence to the Liaison Committee on 22 November, decisions on officials, including special advisers, giving evidence to Select Committees are taken on a case by case basis in line with the guidance in Departmental Evidence and Response to Select Committees. The guidance makes clear the presumption that Committees requests on attendance of named officials will be agreed to, but that the final decision on who is best able to represent the Minister rests with the Minister concerned. It remains the right of a Minister to suggest an alternative civil servant to that named by the Committee if he or she feels that this person is better placed to represent the Minister.

Terrorism Legislation

Grant Shapps: To ask the Prime Minister pursuant to the answer of 21 November 2005, Official Report, column 1662W, on terrorism legislation, what font size was assumed in making the calculation.

Tony Blair: As I made clear in my previous answer, this is a publicly available document (ISBN: 0760064903).

Income Support

Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many (a) males and (b) females aged (i) 16 to 24, (ii) 25 to 30, (iii) 30 to 39 and (iv) 40 years and over were on income support in each district in Northern Ireland in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

David Hanson: The information requested is as follows.
	
		Income support breakdown
		
			  Age 
			  1624 2529 3039 40 plus 
			 District council Male Female Male Female Male Female Male Female 
		
		
			 Antrim 
			 February 2001 66 236 77 158 216 345 951 1,415 
			 February 2002 66 238 79 157 212 329 1,015 1,461 
			 February 2003 58 197 69 146 230 346 1,044 1,479 
			 February 2004 55 196 68 156 212 353 488 489 
			 February 2005 51 183 67 155 202 311 503 530 
			  
			 Ards 
			 February 2001 92 265 81 207 240 389 1,360 2,309 
			 February 2002 103 234 79 209 245 376 1,447 2,375 
			 February 2003 104 252 70 192 239 387 1,506 2,406 
			 February 2004 86 252 74 158 235 355 662 584 
			 February 2005 72 238 79 174 234 360 634 591 
			  
			 Armagh 
			 February 2001 99 231 98 165 273 373 1,407 2,019 
			 February 2002 114 232 101 175 284 388 1,429 2,063 
			 February 2003 111 228 102 167 276 399 1,491 2,114 
			 February 2004 102 232 110 165 287 409 693 568 
			 February 2005 78 227 97 162 281 392 709 572 
			  
			 Ballymena 
			 February 2001 95 279 95 212 232 449 1,081 1,952 
			 February 2002 113 280 102 179 254 456 1,158 2,012 
			 February 2003 99 277 89 173 271 450 1,223 2,041 
			 February 2004 106 272 92 187 277 431 499 581 
			 February 2005 91 252 72 194 260 432 528 596 
			  
			 Ballymoney 
			 February 2001 53 105 42 76 154 195 732 1,055 
			 February 2002 49 122 39 66 153 205 791 1,091 
			 February 2003 48 116 49 68 169 208 860 1,117 
			 February 2004 51 115 49 70 156 206 365 350 
			 February 2005 54 112 44 71 143 208 373 356 
			 Banbridge 
			 February 2001 66 146 54 86 140 232 846 1,414 
			 February 2002 63 151 50 78 153 228 889 1,464 
			 February 2003 60 152 49 78 171 225 929 1,511 
			 February 2004 48 143 59 82 174 229 422 405 
			 February 2005 62 133 49 90 153 219 407 429 
			  
			 Belfast 
			 February 2001 1,008 2,544 936 2,089 2,800 5,258 10,565 15,819 
			 February 2002 1,098 2,451 949 2,023 2,884 4,990 10,936 16,209 
			 February 2003 1,031 2,425 966 1,855 2,945 4,651 11,424 16,350 
			 February 2004 1,049 2,495 942 1,748 2,868 4,460 6,105 6,484 
			 February 2005 1,085 2,396 958 1,757 2,653 4,214 6,148 6,662 
			  
			 Carrickfergus 
			 February 2001 55 151 49 123 130 261 542 1,036 
			 February 2002 51 141 37 118 134 260 601 1,067 
			 February 2003 47 165 45 117 143 257 656 1,047 
			 February 2004 42 153 42 132 147 249 296 331 
			 February 2005 56 148 45 130 125 262 311 346 
			  
			 Castlereagh 
			 February 2001 59 200 52 166 205 413 920 1,821 
			 February 2002 61 203 61 135 213 428 973 1,863 
			 February 2003 45 184 75 142 245 407 1,049 1,896 
			 February 2004 51 177 67 153 223 363 465 510 
			 February 2005 70 165 59 144 228 356 477 557 
			  
			 Coleraine 
			 February 2001 88 282 73 216 248 480 1,407 2,082 
			 February 2002 100 265 74 212 274 468 1,484 2,160 
			 February 2003 86 262 78 178 266 479 1,536 2,181 
			 February 2004 87 277 81 189 258 457 674 666 
			 February 2005 87 281 66 176 251 417 661 673 
			  
			 Cookstown 
			 February 2001 98 187 103 125 272 299 1,296 1,437 
			 February 2002 98 200 96 115 261 284 1,322 1,479 
			 February 2003 88 168 82 123 269 277 1,360 1,500 
			 February 2004 94 161 74 120 239 294 630 495 
			 February 2005 85 162 69 114 244 273 607 505 
			  
			 Craigavon 
			 February 2001 137 421 151 314 498 707 2,350 3,250 
			 February 2002 130 427 142 292 519 720 2,430 3,318 
			 February2003 122 429 135 295 540 718 2,559 3,388 
			 February 2004 140 430 127 284 517 687 1,195 1,143 
			 February 2005 163 440 128 286 494 684 1,250 1,164 
			  
			 Derry 
			 February 2001 430 1,080 405 905 1,162 1,953 4,115 4,966 
			 February 2002 433 1,074 392 900 1,207 1,973 4,370 5,201 
			 February 2003 452 1,088 413 888 1,246 2,015 4,630 5,382 
			 February 2004 425 1,074 402 836 1,228 1,987 2,608 2,649 
			 February 2005 413 1,034 425 849 1,172 1,909 2,681 2,737 
			  
			 Down 
			 February 2001 146 328 108 249 341 494 1,451 2,122 
			 February 2002 154 348 109 231 347 505 1,562 2,169 
			 February 2003 121 329 119 204 351 506 1,642 2,230 
			 February 2004 128 295 113 220 346 468 783 679 
			 February 2005 119 293 120 223 330 457 797 676 
			  
			 Dungannon 
			 February 2001 112 295 124 218 387 427 2,014 2,256 
			 February 2002 101 269 126 240 402 470 2,102 2,302 
			 February 2003 106 261 110 224 381 474 2,145 2,303 
			 February 2004 111 246 104 210 358 476 964 718 
			 February 2005 135 225 100 195 330 476 968 731 
			 Fermanagh 
			 February 2001 112 262 106 190 304 388 2,060 2,590 
			 February 2002 128 249 102 190 318 419 2,127 2,641 
			 February 2003 125 239 99 177 322 421 2,183 2,704 
			 February 2004 115 248 111 179 307 412 766 722 
			 February 2005 106 222 116 173 298 436 793 733 
			  
			 Larne 
			 February 2001 65 120 42 120 130 206 661 957 
			 February 2002 46 130 47 97 138 227 708 1,010 
			 February 2003 50 116 36 81 137 229 728 1,019 
			 February 2004 52 126 41 109 137 217 320 299 
			 February 2005 50 114 37 107 149 216 351 312 
			  
			 Limavady 
			 February 2001 85 202 73 151 215 250 1,008 1,138 
			 February 2002 79 201 68 176 244 281 1,045 1,161 
			 February 2003 79 190 83 150 242 276 1,085 1,181 
			 February 2004 62 198 77 158 248 279 571 379 
			 February 2005 59 180 67 140 242 300 551 385 
			  
			 Lisburn 
			 February 2001 209 667 185 527 535 1,222 2,122 3,515 
			 February 2002 217 652 180 531 558 1,194 2,226 3,601 
			 February 2003 187 623 176 495 541 1,147 2,336 3,638 
			 February 2004 209 573 164 481 550 1,105 1,225 1,458 
			 February 2005 190 546 173 471 520 1,030 1,218 1,479 
			  
			 Magherafelt 
			 February 2001 50 141 50 113 194 281 1,315 1,507 
			 February 2002 64 145 49 111 188 275 1,345 1,543 
			 February 2003 46 134 54 108 188 273 1,354 1,589 
			 February 2004 50 143 57 95 169 288 509 422 
			 February 2005 49 128 46 95 167 286 496 439 
			  
			 Moyle 
			 February 2001 31 101 30 73 90 165 513 719 
			 February 2002 32 104 34 70 89 163 554 737 
			 February 2003 29 108 25 53 90 183 585 731 
			 February 2004 30 103 27 47 105 168 244 227 
			 February 2005 23 99 28 50 104 158 251 234 
			  
			 Newry and Mourne 
			 February 2001 225 537 269 444 690 938 3,528 3,915 
			 February 2002 245 529 225 426 748 999 3,672 4,007 
			 February 2003 234 508 232 452 780 997 3,839 4,116 
			 February 2004 240 519 221 433 746 990 1,779 1,454 
			 February 2005 218 469 232 446 701 970 1,768 1,493 
			  
			 Newtownabbey 
			 February 2001 98 385 85 290 296 635 1,519 2,566 
			 February 2002 120 363 88 297 314 616 1,558 2,649 
			 February 2003 97 358 102 269 299 609 1,627 2,695 
			 February 2004 107 344 101 256 285 592 785 841 
			 February 2005 124 319 84 258 290 589 773 857 
			  
			 North Down 
			 February 2001 82 237 72 175 195 381 1,046 2,170 
			 February 2002 84 232 74 175 188 374 1,048 2,175 
			 February 2003 72 201 67 162 198 370 1,131 2,204 
			 February 2004 68 211 75 152 216 365 473 565 
			 February 2005 60 197 57 160 214 357 479 577 
			  
			 Omagh 
			 February 2001 148 271 111 202 354 394 1,642 1,991 
			 February 2002 138 279 106 201 360 417 1,729 2,026 
			 February 2003 107 249 110 194 339 417 1,826 2,069 
			 February 2004 141 252 114 186 312 448 881 684 
			 February 2005 125 252 108 198 326 425 920 703 
			 Strabane 
			 February 2001 129 319 145 219 318 501 1,807 1,911 
			 February 2002 129 310 139 238 331 514 1,843 1,954 
			 February 2003 118 271 133 247 366 501 1,891 2,027 
			 February 2004 110 259 130 259 355 492 852 720 
			 February 2005 102 259 129 249 350 530 853 738 
		
	
	In October 2003 pension credit replaced the minimum income guarantee element of income support. Claimants aged 60 and over transferred to pension credit. The figures from February 2004 show a reduction in the 40 plus age group.

Secondary Schools

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many (a) controlled and (b) maintained secondary schools in Northern Ireland are scheduled to close in each of the next three years.

Angela Smith: One controlled post-primary school is scheduled to close with effect from 31 August 2006.
	The Department has also received a development proposal for the amalgamation of two maintained schools, St. Malachy's High School, Antrim and St. Olcan's High School, Randalstown.

Speed Limits

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans he has to introduce 20 miles per hour speed limits near schools in the Province; and if he will make a statement.

Shaun Woodward: The chief executive of Roads Service (Dr. Malcolm McKibbin) has been asked to write to the hon. Lady in response to this question.
	Letter from Dr. Malcolm McKibbin to Mrs. Iris Robinson, dated 30 November 2005
	You recently asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland a Parliamentary Question regarding what plans he has to introduce automatic 20 miles per hour speed limits at all schools in the Province.
	I have been asked to reply as this issue falls within my responsibility as Chief Executive of Roads Service.
	I can confirm that we have no current plans to introduce mandatory 20mph speed limits outside all schools in Northern Ireland.
	Local speed limits are not considered effective when they are applied to meet conditions arising only for short periods of the day, since the restriction will be unnecessary for most of the time and may consequently not be respected when it is needed. In such circumstances specific signing and engineering measures are likely to be more effective. This is the case at schools. It is for this reason that Roads Service considers that the universal application of mandatory 20mph speed limits at all schools would not be appropriate.
	We do, however, take safety at schools very seriously. Roads Service is currently rolling out a programme of safety enhancements to control driver behaviour and to manage traffic speed in the vicinity of schools, through the installation of signs, road markings and physical engineering features as part of the Department's Safer Routes to Schools Initiative (SRS).
	This initiative aims to encourage parents, children and teachers to use sustainable methods of transport for their journey to and from school. The SRS programme also aims to improve the safety and health of pupils by reducing the impact of traffic around school facilities and encouraging greater physical activity among students.
	This financial year there are currently 46 schools across Northern Ireland receiving SRS safety measures. It is Roads Service's objective to assist a minimum of 40 schools annually thereafter, subject to the availability of resources.
	The former Minister for Regional Development, John Spellar MP, agreed in November 2004, that Roads Service should lead a review of speed management policy within Northern Ireland. This is being undertaken in co-operation with our partners in PSNI and DOE Road Safety Branch, and is mirroring a similar review being undertaken by the Department for Transport in Great Britain. Although this is very much work in progress, further speed management issues around schools are being actively considered and I would be happy to update you when this work concludes.
	I hope this information is helpful.

Warm Homes Scheme

Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland 
	(1)  what the average cost was of insulation measures fitted to date in each parliamentary constituency as part of the Warm Homes Scheme in Northern Ireland;
	(2)  what the average cost per heating system fitted to date has been in each parliamentary constituency as part of the Warm Homes Scheme in Northern Ireland.

David Hanson: The information requested is not readily available on a parliamentary constituency basis and could be provided only at disproportionate costs. The overall average figures for Northern Ireland are as follows:
	
		
			
			  Average cost 
			 Financial year Per heating system Per insulation 
		
		
			 200102(52) 2,628.48 349.92 
			 200203 2,826.06 347.31 
			 200304 2,991.95 377.33 
			 200405 3,385.05 458.59 
			 200506(53) 3,675.85 483.67 
		
	
	(52) July to 31 March.
	(53) To date.

National Security Appeals Panel

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what the (a) staffing level and (b) cost of the National Security Appeals Panel has been in each calendar year since inception.

Harriet Harman: The National Security Appeals Panel is included in the budget for the information tribunal and is not separately identified. Between inception and 2004 secretariat functions to the information tribunal were provided as part of the responsibilities of one member of staff in the information rights division. Staffing levels were increased in preparation for the coming into force of the Freedom of Information Act 2000. The information tribunal currently has three full time members of staff who are all based in Leicester.
	The costs incurred by sittings of the National Security Appeals Panel can be broken down for each year as follows:
	
		
			   
		
		
			 200001 0 
			 200102 2411.87 
			 200203 3617.77 
			 200304 3074.48 
			 200405 4094.69 
			 200506 9807.17

Ethiopia

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the Ethiopian Government on the imprisonment of opposition politicians.

Ian Pearson: My noble Friend, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Minister for Africa (Lord Triesman of Tottenham) summoned the Ethiopian Charg d'Affaires on 1 November to register our concerns about the situation in Ethiopia, including the issue of detainees. On 6 November, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for International Development also raised the issue when he spoke to Prime Minister Meles. Also on 6 November, in our capacity as EU presidency, we issued a statement on the situation in Ethiopia, which included reference to our concerns regarding detainees. Our ambassador in Ethiopia has also raised our concerns with Prime Minister Meles, the Ethiopian Foreign Minister and other Government Ministers.
	We continue to call for the immediate release of all political detainees, for those individuals not charged under due process to be released immediately, and for access to those detained for their families, legal counsel and representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross or other appropriate representatives of the international community.

Gaza-Egyptian Border

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of progress in opening the Gaza-Egyptian border following disengagement.

Kim Howells: The Gaza-Egypt border opened on 25 November. This is a significant step forward for the Palestinians. My right hon. Friend, the Foreign Secretary, made a statement on the day of the opening:
	Today is a day of great significance in the long search for peace in the Middle East. The deployment of General Pietro Pistolese and his team at Rafah will allow the border between Gaza and Egypt to be re-opened following Israel's withdrawal. This is the first time that the Palestinians have had control over one of their own borders. The re-opening of this border will have a real impact on the lives of Gazans: it will improve the economic prospects of the Palestinian people and allow them greater freedom of movement.
	This EU mission demonstrates the importance the international community places on securing peace in the Middle East. I pay tribute to Jim Wolfensohn's remarkable work in helping the parties build on Israel's courageous disengagement. The efforts of Condoleezza Rice and Javier Solana in securing the deal have also been invaluable. EU Member States and the European Commission have worked rapidly to set up the mission. Egypt has offered vital support. I want to assure General Pistolese and his team of our continued support as they undertake this important EU contribution to a sustainable peace. The EU will continue to work in support of the other aspects of the agreement on movement and access and of Jim Wolfensohn's efforts.

Iraq

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many of the detainees held by multinational forces in Iraq are women; and if he will make a statement.

Kim Howells: There are no women currently in British military detention in Iraq. The United States Government have told us that they currently have approximately 11 females in detention in Iraq. The number varies with new detentions and the continuous process of review and release.

United States (Prince of Wales's Visit)

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs 
	(1)  if he will place in the Library the guest list for the cocktail party held as part of the official visit of HRH the Prince of Wales at the New York museum of Modern Art;
	(2)  if he will place in the Library the guest list for the party hosted by the British ambassador at his residence in Washington DC, held as part of the official visit of HRH the Prince of Wales to the United States of America.

Douglas Alexander: holding answers 28 November 2005
	A copy of the guest lists will be placed in the Library of the House.